Send Me An Angel
by GlambertLovesBTR
Summary: Gang leader Kendall Knight isn't too thrilled about showing new girl, Krys Everrest, around school. She wants to get to know him more. Can she help him see he's worth more than he thinks? Rated M for sex in future chapters , drugs, alcohol, violence, and language *Part 1 of 'The Saviors' saga*
1. Home Sweet Home

**Hey guys! This is the first story of a new series I'm writing! I'm so excited! The first story is about Kendall and an OC, then Carlos, James, and Logan. I hope you all enjoy these! xoxo, Maddie :)**

* * *

***Kendall's POV***

Thank god for Saturday! Actually, thank god for weekends in general. Even if it is for only two days, it makes me so grateful that I don't have school.

Right now, I'm in my bed, snoring away. I'm fucking exhausted from last night! I went over to my best friend James's house with my other two best friends, Logan and Carlos. The funny thing is, is that I don't even remember what we were doing. I just remember that James, Logan, Carlos, and I were playing beer pong in the garage, which explains the killer hangover I have right now. I don't even have to be sober to remember that the shit that went down last night was fucking crazy!

Another reason why I'm glad it's the weekend is because I can sleep in all day. Well, that is until I feel splashes of ice cold water on my face. I slowly open my eyes and blink a few times so I could adjust to being awake. I ran my fingers through my hair when I feel that it's a bit damp.

_What the fuck?_ I thought to myself. All of a sudden, water is being sprayed onto my face, which makes me jump. How could I not when it was so damn cold? I look up to see my twelve year old sister, Katie, standing at the foot of my bed, holding a squirt bottle. She gave me a little smirk and waved at me.

"Katie! What the hell!" I yelled at her, rubbing my arm on my face to get the water off.

She shrugged. "Mom told me if you weren't up by three, I get to spray you with cold water."

"What?" I looked at my alarm clock. 3:02. Shit! "That's messed up!"

Katie shrugged and looked at the squirt bottle in her hands. "I think it's actually kinda fun." She pointed the bottle at me again and continued to squirt me with water.

"Okay, I get it!" I exclaimed, trying to block my face with my arms, "Now stop it!" I pulled my blankets off of myself and jumped out of bed in front of my little sister. "There! I'm up," I said to her, "Happy now?"

She just crossed her arms and shook her head no. She sprayed me again with water and said, "_Now_ I am," with her signature devious smile. The nerve on that little girl…

I slowly wiped the water off my face and glared at Katie. She knows better not to mess with me, but always ends up doing it anyways. She was gonna get now. Her big doe eyes grew as wide as they could get and she ran out of my bedroom, me taking off after her.

"Get back here, you little brat!" I yelled after her, chasing her down the stairs.

"No way!" she yelled back, running into the living room.

Soon we were both speeding around the couch repeatedly. I didn't give a shit that we were losing our breath over something as stupid as a squirt bottle, but I had to get my revenge from being woken up when I had a hangover. I'm actually surprised Katie didn't notice it. She was always good at figuring shit like that out.

"Katie, give me the fucking squirt bottle now!" I yelled, both of us stopping to catch our breaths.

"Make me!" she argued back, sticking her tongue out and spraying me again.

"Fine," I said, walking towards her, "but don't say I didn't warn you." Before she could ask what I was talking about, I threw my little sister over my shoulder and headed towards the couch.

"Kendall, put me down!" she yelled, pounding her small fists on my back.

"Okay," I shrugged. I gently threw her down on the brownish couch and started to wrestle her for the squirt bottle. We were going at it for a good few minutes until we both heard the sound of footsteps walking into the living room.

"Alright, you two," my mom said, running over to us, "that's enough!" After struggling for a couple minutes, she pulled Katie off of me, still kicking and yelling at me. "Okay," my mom continued to say, setting a slightly calmer Katie down, "what is going on? Why are you guys fighting?"

"Why the fuck would you tell her she can just wake me up by spraying water on me?" I yelled, pointing at my devil of a sister.

"Okay, first of all," my mom said, putting her hand out, "watch your language. And two, I told her to do that because it was getting late and you wouldn't have gotten up if we just told you to."

I opened my mouth to protest, and then closed it when my mom gave me a knowing look. She was right; I wouldn't have gotten up on my own. She gave me a smug smile, knowing that she won the little argument. Now I know where Katie gets her devious side from. Oh well, you gotta love them, though.

"So now that that's over and done with," my mom said, "how about I go make you something to eat before I head off to my shift?"

"That'd be great," I said with a smile, "Thanks, Mom."

She kissed my cheek and smiled at me before she walked into the kitchen. I turned to Katie and saw that she was playing a video game on her PSP. I noticed that she set the squirt bottle on the coffee table. That was when a light bulb went off in my head. When she wasn't looking, I grabbed the bottle and sprayed water in her face.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, glaring at me, "Can't you see that I'm playing a game here?"

"Karma's a bitch, little sister," I grinned, "Live with it." I gave her a pat on the head and walked into the kitchen.

The smell of bacon hits my nostrils as I walk into the room. Man, does it smell good in here! I see my mom fixing a bacon and lettuce sandwich for me. I sat down at the table and while I was waiting for my mom to be done, I check my phone to see if I had any new messages. I saw that James texted me saying that Logan and Carlos were going over to his house later and asked him if I wanted to come. I told him yes and that I would be there at five. As I sent him the message, my mom walked over and set the sandwich in front of me. I thank her before I take a bite.

"Hey, Mom," Katie said, walking into the room, "Ashley invited me over to her house to spend the night. Can I go?"

"Sure," my mom answered, "I'll drop you off on my way to work."

"Cool, thanks." Katie sat down at the table across from me and continued to play her game.

"What about you, Kendall?" my mom asked, looking at me, "What are you gonna do tonight?"

"I'm just gonna go over to James's house with Logan and Carlos."

"Again?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips, "You were just there last night. Aren't you guys getting sick of each other?" As I raised my eyebrow at her question, she put her hands up in defense and said, "Never mind. I don't even know why I asked."

I chuckled as I took another bite of my sandwich. James, Logan, and Carlos weren't just best friends. We were a team; undefeatable, unstoppable, and legendary, or at least we thought so. But we were also 'brothers'. We've known each other since the first day of kindergarten when we started that huge food fight in the cafeteria and were sent to the principal's office right after. We've been inseparable ever since. You could say we were 'rebels', if you wanted to put it mildly, but we wouldn't be the men we are today without each other. That may have sounded lame, but it's true.

"Katie, go get your stuff ready while I go get dressed for work," my mom told my sister. Katie ran up to her room while my mom went to hers.

I was playing Temple Run on my phone when my mom walked back into the kitchen to get her purse. She was wearing her pink nurse outfit with teddy bears all over it.

"Come on, Katie!" my mom called to my sister, slinging the straps of her purse on her shoulders.

"Okay, I'll be right down!"

My mom sighed before she turned to me. "Well, I gotta get going," she said, "I probably won't be home till late tonight, okay?"

"Alright, Mom," I responded.

She leaned over and kissed the top of my head. When she stood back up straight, she looked into my green eyes and said, "Be careful tonight, okay? I mean it. I don't want either of you boys getting into trouble."

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. God, I wish my mom didn't worry about us so much. "Mom, we'll be fine," I assured her, "Trust me."

She gave me a sympathetic smile as Katie ran done the stairs with a soccer bag in her hand. "I'm ready to go," she told our mom.

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow, honey. I love you."

"Bye, Mom," I told her, "I love you, too."

With that, my mom and Katie left the house. It was four o'clock so I decided to get ready myself. I put my plate in the sink, took a couple Tylenol to get rid of my hangover, and headed up to my room. I took a quick shower and got dressed. I wore a black t-shirt, red and black flannel, dark skinny jeans, and black Vans. I put my dark grey beanie on top of my shaggy blonde hair. I grabbed my wallet and keys and headed out to my white truck. Once I got in, I took out my iPod and selected 'Shuffle'. My favorite song, 'Drive' by Incubus starts and I pulled out of the driveway and into the streets, curious to know what stupid shit the guys and I were gonna get ourselves into tonight.

* * *

***Krys's POV***

"Krys… Krys… Krystal."

I fluttered my eyes open and rubbed my head. Wow, when the hell did I fall asleep? The last thing I remember was stopping at In-N-Out to get something to eat with my brother. That was probably earlier in the afternoon. Now, I'm just anxious to crawl into my queen-sized bed and fall asleep again. Well, once it's set up again, that is.

"Krys, you better wake up," my 21 year old brother, Tyce, said, shaking my shoulder lightly.

I groaned as I leaned my head against the car window as I closed my eyes and tried to go to sleep again. "Why?" I mumbled, snuggling my head into the hood of my oversized black sweatshirt.

"Because we're here."

I opened both my eyes and looked outside my window. I could tell it was windy from the leaves blowing everywhere. The sky was filled with pink and orange, making it look like a masterpiece. Also, the moon was starting to come out, even though it was about 5:30. Yep, I was definitely not in Arizona anymore.

"Wow," I breathed out as I took in the view.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Tyce said, his hands on the steering wheel and eyes on the road.

"I'll say," I replied, then turning to face my brother. If you saw us, you probably wouldn't have guessed we were siblings. He had blonde hair that was styled in a faux hawk and ice blue eyes, while I on the other hand had long, straight, layered, natural dark intense auburn hair and smoky grey-blue eyes. Also, his skin was tan and mines was pretty damn pale, which is weird when you used to live in a sunny state.

"So, where's our house at?" I asked as Tyce studied the directions in his hand.

"Hmm…" my brother said to himself, looking at the houses on both sides of us. His eyes lit up after about a few seconds of searching. "I think I see it right there," he said, pointing to something out the window. I followed his gaze and smiled a bit at what I saw.

I've never seen our new house before. Tyce wanted it to be a surprise for me, and I gotta say that he did a pretty good job. It looked big and was a nice shade of light blue, my favorite color. There was a huge tree out in the front and its golden leaves were starting to fall off the branches and land onto the grass. Minnesota was definitely nothing like Arizona, but I think I could like it here.

Tyce pulled into the driveway, followed by the movers. We both got out of the car and I immediately started shivering.

"Wow," Tyce said, pulling his hood over his head, "I knew Minnesota was gonna be cold, but I didn't expect it to feel like the freakin' Arctic!"

"Tell me about it," I agreed, shoving my hands into my pockets, "If it's like this during the fall, I'm kinda scared to know what it's like in the winter." I was immediately grateful I decided to dress warmly as I looked down at my black sweatshirt, blue sweatpants, and black Ugg boots. Tyce chuckled as we both headed over to the FedEx truck.

One of the movers got out of the truck and slid the door open, revealing our boxes and some furniture, since there was already some that my parents left. Tyce got into the open space and started handing me some boxes. Once we both had our hands full, we walked up to the white wooden door. My brother balanced his boxes on his knee as he struggled to get the key out of his pocket. Once he got it out, he stuck it in the doorknob and unlocked it.

The inside of the house was just as big as it was on the outside. It was breathtaking. The movers walked inside and asked Tyce where they should put the boxes. As he pointed to a spot, I looked around some more. The walls were painted white, the furniture was a nice cream color, and the floor was covered with light blue carpet. There was also a freakin' chandelier hanging above the dinner table!

It took about a half an hour to finally transfer everything from the truck to inside the house. The movers had left after everything was set up. When everything was in its place, I plopped down on the couch and let out a big sigh.

"Krys," my brother called from the kitchen, "Why don't you go set up your room while I make some dinner?"

I huffed when I knew that meant that I was gonna have to get up. Just when I was getting comfortable too… damn it! "Okay," I finally agreed, getting up from the couch and walked upstairs to my bedroom.

The walls were painted light blue and the carpet was white and fuzzy. I smiled when I saw my bed and I was fighting the urge to just jump onto it. I put one of the boxes on my bed, pulled out my brother's pocket knife, and cut through the tape stuck on the box. It took me about twenty minutes to set up my room. I was going through my last box when I pulled out a picture. It was of Tyce, my parents, and me at the lake last summer. A tear rolled down my pale cheek as I remembered the last time I saw them.

The four of us were on our way home from the movies, since it was 'family night' for us. We were just joking around and having a good time when all of a sudden, a huge mac truck rammed into us, hitting my side of the car. We flipped over about five times before the car landed on its top. The car was totally damaged, glass was shattered, and blood was pooling around us. A passing bystander had witnessed the accident and dialed 911. The ambulance rushed us to the hospital as fast as they could. Tyce had the most minor injuries, only ending up with a broken arm. I had a few broken ribs, leg, and I had a permanent scar that ran from my right shoulder to the top of my left collarbone.

As for my parents, they died when we arrived at the hospital. When I first found out, I didn't wanna believe it. I was trying to leave my room so I could see them just one last time, but the fucking doctors wouldn't let me. I remember collapsing on the cold, hard floors as I sobbed my eyes out. I was so upset that I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye. I still get nightmares about it and that was about five months ago.

That was one of the reasons why Tyce and I decided to move to Minnesota. I couldn't bear to stay at that house in Arizona when everything there reminded me too much of my parents. Thankfully, with the money they left us with in their will, Tyce and I bought this house and moved out of Arizona. Of course, I was gonna miss it over there, but this was both my brother and my chance to start over and get out of the state of depression we were in. I wiped the tears from my eyes as I continued to stare at the picture.

"Krys!" Tyce called, snapping me from thoughts, "Come downstairs! Dinner's ready!"

I sighed before setting the picture on my nightstand. I got up from my bed, look around my new room, and headed downstairs to meet up with my brother.

* * *

***Kendall's POV***

"Carlos, what the fuck is taking so long?" I yelled, annoyed with my Latino friend's lack of speed.

James, Logan, Carlos, and I were under the freeway that night. We decided to leave our mark in this town, so Carlos found an abandoned ladder and some spray paint and was drawing our symbol on the wall.

Logan kept on going about how this was a bad idea and that someone might see us so we made him on look out. He made me laugh sometimes. He always tries to talk us out of doing anything reckless when we all know he was just as much as a badass as we the rest of the gang. Just last week, he took on three guys when they didn't pay us back for the shit we sold them a week before. It was priceless!

James and I were just sitting against the other wall, observing the artwork our friend was displaying. We were passing a joint back and forth as we waited.

"For reals, man!" James said, fixing his longish brown hair, "It shouldn't take, like, two hours to paint something so simple!"

Carlos turned to us and glared. "Art takes time," he argued back, "so stop pressuring me, dammit!" He mumbled something before turning back to his artwork and continuing to paint.

"Man, I really don't like this," Logan complained, looking around to make sure no one could see us, "Can we leave already?"

"Once he hurries the fuck up, we can," James said, pointing to Carlos. The Latino flipped him off before continuing to paint.

"Fuck this!" the shorter brunette complained, tapping his foot anxiously and looking around some more.

"Dude, relax," I told him. I held out the joint I had in my hand to him. "Here, take a hit. It'll make you feel better."

Logan shook his head as he took the joint from me. He brought it to his lips and inhaled deeply, the paper starting to burn away instantly. After that, he took it out of his mouth, gave it back to me, and continued to be on look out.

"Hey, James," Carlos called him, "Pass me the red paint, would ya?" James got up and walked over to him, leaving me by myself at the other wall.

All of a sudden, my phone went off. I took it out of my pocket and smirked at the new text I received.

**Sent to: Kendall Knight**

**From: Jo Taylor**

**Hey, sexy ;) what r u up 2 2nite?**

I chuckled to myself. This is probably one of her usual late-night booty calls. I would usually head on right over to her house, but sadly, I was a bit busy at the moment.

**Sent to: Jo Taylor**

**From: Kendall Knight**

**Hey there ;) I'm actually with James, Logan, and Carlos right now so I'm not able to come over tonight.**

It didn't take Jo more than a minute to reply back. I could my jeans grow almost painfully tighter as I read her newest message.

**Sent to: Kendall Knight**

**From: Jo Taylor**

**What a shame my parents rnt home 2nite so I wanted 2 no if u could come over. But since u cant, I guess I'm gonna have 2 shower all alone, with no 1 to rub me all over my soaking wet body…**

Wow. It's a good thing it's late and dark out right now or else my friends would give me so much shit for having a hard on. I continue texting Jo until James smacked me on the back of my head.

"Ow!" I exclaimed, rubbing the back of my head. I glared at my idiotic best friend, "What the fuck was that for?"

"I've been trying to get your attention for the past two minutes!" James answered, "I was gonna ask you for another joint since we ran out of the last one."

"Seriously, stop sexting your girlfriend and roll one up for us," Logan agreed, "It's getting really late and I'm starting to freak out!"

"Jo's _not_ my girlfriend," I growled at him.

"Fine, fuck buddies, whatever," James corrected, "Just hurry up."

I rolled my eyes as I grabbed the bag of weed and paper out of my back pocket. I took out a good amount of the grass and rolled it into the white paper.

I handed it to James, who put it between his lips, took out his lighter, and lit it up. He took a drag out of it and when he took it out, he blew out a puff of smoke into the cold Minnesota air.

He then passed it to Logan, who repeated James's actions, and then handed it to me. I brought the handmade cigarette to my own lips and took a drag. I leaned my head back against the cold concrete wall as I exhaled the sweet smoke out of my lungs.

"There!" Carlos exclaimed, leaning back to observe his masterpiece. "I finished it!" Unfortunately, he lost his balance and he fell off the ladder, landing onto the ground. James, Logan, and I ran to him and helped him up.

"It's all good!" he assured us, tapping on his hard, black hockey helmet twice. He then took a step back and looked at his creation. "So, what do you guys think?"

We all turned and looked at the painting. I have to admit, this kid has talent. He had painted a huge version of our symbol, which was a black and red star with two bones crossing behind it and flames surrounding the whole thing. Above it, it said in black cursive letters, 'Burning Star', which was the name of our gang. It was now official; we were permanently marked on Minnesota territory.

"Nice work, Carlos," I said, patting him on the back.

"Thank you, thank you," he joked, bowing.

Suddenly, we heard sirens go off. We turned around and we saw a cop car parked in front of us. Two male cops stepped out of the car and pointed their guns at us.

"Freeze! Sherwood police!" they yelled, making us put our hands up in defense, "You are under arrest for damaging local property!" Shit!

"I told you this was gonna happen!" Logan whispered to me, obviously pissed.

"Stop talking!" one of the cops said, pointing his gun at the shorter brunette. That automatically made him shut up.

"Look, guys," I said, stepping up, "We don't want any trouble. We just wanted to give this wall some nice color, so instead of arresting us, you should be thanking us."

"Save it!" one of the cops yelled, "Now, we're gonna take you downtown to the police station where we'll be discussing your punishment." He took a pair of handcuffs out of his pocket.

"Shit! What are we gonna do now?" Carlos panicked, "Our parents are gonna kill us!"

"Well, we could down to the police station with them…" I suggested.

"Or…" James interjected.

"We run."

We immediately ran away from them as fast as we could. I'm guessing the cops were chasing us because I heard the sound of tires screeching and sirens blaring. Before I knew it, we were racing down a long ass tunnel. It was so dark it was almost scary, but they didn't have their headlights on so hopefully they couldn't see us.

"Quick!" I yelled to my friends, "Jump into that bush over there!"

All at once, we dived into a bush just outside the tunnel. The four of us watched the cop car speed right past us, not noticing us at all.

"Ok, _that _was close!" Carlos breathed out, collapsing onto the grass.

"Yeah, no shit," James agreed, running his hands through his hair, "But that was fuckin' awesome!"

Logan just rolled his eyes and said, "I gotta get new friends."

"Aw, come on, Logie!" Carlos laughed, putting his arm around the brunette's shoulder, "You know you love us!"

"First of all, get the fuck off of me," Logan growled, pushing the Latino away from him, "and second of all, don't _ever_ call me Logie again."

"Oh, yeah, that's right," James said, smirking and nodding his head, "Only Alice is allowed to call you that. Your little fuck buddy has you all wrapped around her finger, doesn't she?"

Logan's face turned red as he punched our tall friend in the gut. I honestly couldn't believe James said that. Alice wasn't Logan's girlfriend, but he cared about that girl more than life itself. She's been his best friend ever since they were in diapers, and the rest of the guys and I welcomed her with open arms into our lives. She wasn't a part of 'Burning Star' with us and we were okay with that. Alice was a great girl, so I didn't understand why James was talking about her like this.

"Don't you ever talk about Alice that way again!" Logan yelled at him.

He then threatened to pull his gun out by reaching to his back pocket. I bet he would've actually used it if I hadn't pushed him away, Carlos doing the same thing with James.

"Hey!" I yelled at them, "There'll be none of that here!" I turned to James, shaking my head. "Why the fuck would you say something like that about Alice?"

"I don't know!" he shrugged, "It was the alcohol talkin'!" I shook my head in annoyance before I started talking again.

"Look, I don't care what the argument's about, but if I ever see you pull a gun or knife out when you're not on the job, I promise you that both of your asses with be sent straight to the hospital! Do I make myself clear?"

When neither of them answered, I pulled my own gun out of my back pocket and pointed it at them. "I'm gonna ask you this one more time. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir," James and Logan mumbled.

"Good." I put my gun back in my back pocket. I then ran my hand through my hair and let out a heavy sigh. "I'd say that we had a pretty long night, so let's just go home."

* * *

***Krys's POV***

After Tyce and I finished watching 'Iron Man' and eating our ice cream, he turned off the TV as I put our bowls into the dishwasher.

"Thanks for making dinner, Tyce," I said to him, "It was really good."

"Well, I'm glad you liked it, sis," he replied, flashing his million dollar smile, "So is your room all settled?"

"Yep. It's almost like I took my bedroom from back home with me."

"Good."

I stretched my arms out as I let out a big yawn. When I looked at my phone, it was about a quarter past midnight.

"I'm so tired," I told my brother, "I think I'm gonna go to bed."

"Okay," Tyce responded, "Tomorrow, we're gonna go to the mall to get you some new stuff. You start school at Sherwood High on Monday."

I threw my head back and groaned in annoyance. "Great, because that's just one more thing I need to worry about. You're so lucky that you're not in high school anymore."

My brother laughed as he ruffled up my hair. "Yeah, but that means that I have to find a job so I can provided things like food, clothes, and shelter for your ass. And relax. At least it's your senior year."

"True." I yawned again as I wrapped my arms around Tyce's waist. "Goodnight, Tyce."

"Goodnight, Krys." He kissed the top of my head before he cupped my face with his hands. His icy blue eyes stared into my grey ones as he asked me, "Are you gonna be okay tonight?"

I sighed. I knew Tyce worried about me a lot. Ever since our parents died, my life had gone completely downhill. It was like a living hell. I was failing most of my classes due to lack of concentration, I was losing all of my friends because of my depression, and to top it all off, I stopped singing and playing my piano. That was pretty much my whole life. I didn't wanna bring my grand piano to Minnesota because my parents had bought it for me for my fifth birthday and it brought back so many memories. Tyce insisted on bringing it anyway, since he was so determined on getting me to play again.

In all honesty, I didn't know if I was gonna be okay. For my brother's sake, though, I put on my best smile and said, "Yeah, I'll be fine. Don't worry."

I could tell Tyce was still concerned, but he just kissed my forehead and sent me off to bed. "I love you, Krystal Harley Everrest," he called out as I walked to my room.

"I love you, too, Tyce Adrian Everrest," I called back.

When I entered my room, I grabbed my iPod off of my desk and plugged it into my stereo. I clicked on my 'Lullaby' playlist and 'You're The Reason I Come Home' by Ron Pope started to play. I crawled into my beloved bed and turned off my lamp. I didn't fall asleep right away so I just stared at the ceiling.

I really did wanna get better. I'm slowly recovering but it still gets hard sometimes. It sucks not having your parents with you, especially when you used to be so close to them. Fuck, I missed them so much! Thank god for Tyce, though. He was having just as much as a hard time coping as I was, but since he was the oldest, he had to stay strong for the both of us. He was my rock. Without him, I don't know where I would be at this point.

"Thank you so much for everything, Mom and Dad," I whispered, looking up as if they were just hovering above me, watching me very closely, "I miss you so much, but I really am trying. I love you."

My eyes started getting heavy so I let them close. Before I knew it, I fell fast asleep on my first night of living in Minnesota. Home sweet home…

* * *

**I really hope you guys liked it! I've never written a story like this before and for some reason it feels exciting haha! I know that it didn't seem like there was a lot of Krys in it, but don't worry. In the next chapter, there will be plenty. PLEASE review and let me know what you think. I'll try to update by the weekend! xoxo, Maddie**


	2. Hate I Really Don't Like You

**Hey, guys! Sorry it took me a while to update! I've been really busy lately with school and the musical I'm in, Bye Bye Birdie. I'm gonna try my best to update as much as I can! I hope you guys like this chapter! xoxo, Maddie**

* * *

***Krys's POV***

_Beep beep! Beep beep! Beep beep!_

I whimpered a bit as my annoying ass alarm clock went off. I opened one of my eyes and saw that it was six o'clock. In the morning. On a Monday! I groaned. Call me Garfield because I freakin' hate Mondays.

Covering my head with my sky blue pillow, I tried my best to block out the most irritating noise anyone has ever heard. It was a bit difficult to do so when it seemed like the constant beeping gradually grew faster and louder. I removed the pillow from my face and glared at the devilish machine, the big, red, glowing numbers mocking me each second. Finally reaching my breaking point, I slammed my hand down onto the alarm clock and ending its constant noise-making.

I felt like a zombie as I sat up on my bed and planted my feet on the ground. I started shivering when the cold air hit my body so I wrapped my arms around myself, making a mental note to ask my brother to get a heater for my room. I stood up and walked to my bathroom. Once I was inside, I turned on the water for my shower. As I waited for the water to warm up, I stripped out of my clothes and the breeze hit me again. I quickly jumped into my shower and let out a huge sigh when I felt the warm water rain down on me.

After about eight minutes of washing and cleansing, I turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, cold air hitting me once again. I wrapped a white fluffy towel around my body and plugged in my blow dryer. Five minutes later, my dark auburn hair went from sopping wet to dry and straight. I walked back to my room and put on my bra and underwear. I rummaged through my closet to try to find an outfit to wear for my first day of school. I finally decided on a white tank top, pink Abercrombie & Fitch sweatshirt, light-wash skinny jeans, and cream colored Ugg boots. To top it all off, I put on my music note necklace with my name engraved on it, my most prized possession. Once I thought I looked decent enough, I headed out of my room and into the kitchen.

The time was seven o'clock. I had a few minutes to kill before Tyce had to take me to Sherwood High, so I made myself a bowl of cereal. As I was eating my Cinnamon Toast Crunch at the dinner table, my brother walked into the room wearing a purple V-neck, hooded leather jacket, grey skinny jeans, and black Vans.

I whistled at him. "Someone looks hot!" I joked, smiling, "What are you dressed up for?"

Tyce chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Shut up. I have an interview at that coffee shop we went to yesterday. They're hiring a new coffee maker."

I raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Are you sure that it has nothing to do with that barista you met there? Don't think that I didn't see you check him out."

Shades of red started to creep on to my brother's cheeks as he ran his fingers through his short hair. He glared at me when I started to laugh at him. "Hey, he was hot!" he defended himself, "He reminded me of Ryan Reynolds!"

"Oh my god," I laughed, "You're crazy, Tyce."

"Yeah, I know," he smiled, grabbing his car keys, "Are you ready to go to your first day of school?"

"No," I admitted, placing my bowl in the sink, "but I guess I have no choice, huh?"

"Nope. Now let's go."

I grabbed my purse by the door and followed Tyce out to his car. Once we were buckled up, we drove off to Sherwood High. I had to admit, it looked pretty nice. It seemed like pretty big school, based on the building size and the many students hanging out in the front. It almost seemed a bit intimidating. I rubbed the charm attached to the necklace my parents gave me for my sixteenth birthday.

Tyce was about to pull up to a curb when out of nowhere, a black truck swerved in and took our spot, totally cutting us off. We would've hit it if Tyce didn't hit the brakes fast enough. We both jerked forward in our seats as the car came to a start. It gave me a bit of a whiplash.

"Hey! What the fuck are you doing?" Tyce yelled at the truck in front of us, honking his horn. He turned to me and asked, "Are you okay, Krys?"

The shock from the almost accident caused me to breathe heavily. I grabbed my purse from under my seat and searched for my inhaler. When I found the solid object, I took it out and shook it a bit. "Yeah, I'm fine," I answered before bringing the inhaler to my mouth and taking in a puff of air. I held my breath for a few seconds, and then I exhaled, finally able to breathe normally.

There were two teenage boys in the back of the truck, dressed in dark clothing which automatically set off their personality. The taller boy with longish brown hair and tan skin stood up and opened his arms out.

"Watch where you're going!" he yelled at us, "This is _our_ spot, motherfucker!"

"You can have it!" Tyce yelled back, "Douchebag…"

I smacked my brother in the chest. Did he _want _to get punched? Judging by these guys' appearances, they look like they can put up a really good fight. Tyce on the other hand couldn't even harm a fly if he tried. Seriously. He had the worst aim with the fly swatter.

The shorter Latino sitting next to his friend on the back of the truck just shook his head. "What a fuckin' idiot…" Could they have been anymore rude?

The taller one just stepped out from the back as the Latino jumped out. From the passenger seat, a brunette that wasn't as tall or short as the others stepped out of the truck. Just like the other boys, he was dressed in dark clothing. He scowled and flipped us off.

"That was nice," Tyce said sarcastically.

I shook my head at his comment, not taking my eyes off of these boys. They were kinda scary, as if they were gonna pull out a gun and shoot us on the spot. I was already starting to wish I was back in Arizona. My fears and curiosity grew when I saw _him_.

He was probably the most intimidating of them all. I knew it ever since he stepped out of the driver's side of that truck. He was tall, probably at least six feet. He had shaggy dirty blonde hair with his bangs barely covering his eyes. He had snakebites on his bottom lip, pretty much screaming 'danger'. He was wearing a black hoodie, dark grey t-shirt, black skinny jeans, and black Vans. He had a grey beanie placed on the top of his head. He took it off, shook out his hair, and put it back on. He looked at me with his piercing green eyes. It was almost like he was burning a hole in my chest with them. The mystery boy just glared at me and shook his head, which seemed more threatening to me than the other three boys.

"Krystal… can you hear me?" Tyce said, snapping his fingers in my face.

I snapped out of my trance and turned to my brother, who had a concerned look in his eyes.

"You okay?" he asked me.

I turned back to the front and saw that the 'mystery boy' was walking away with his friends, before giving me one last glare. I didn't like this. I didn't like this at all. I shook my head as my eyes went wide.

"I can't do this," I told Tyce, shaking my head and staring out in front of me, which was nothing in general, "Just take me home right now where it's safe and sound."

Suddenly, my brother grabbed my shoulders and made me face him. "Krystal Harley Everrest, look at me. You are the strongest person I've ever met. Don't let jackasses like them get to you. I promise you can do this."

My conscious kept telling me to listen to my brother. I couldn't spend the rest of my life curled up in a ball in the corner of my room, hiding from the rest of the world. I had to be strong for myself, Tyce… and my parents.

"I hate you so much," I told Tyce sarcastically, opening the car door and stepping out.

"You know you love me," he smirked. Smartass. "Give them hell, kiddo!"

With that, he drove away as I just stared at the building. I may have seemed calm on the outside, but I had many butterflies fluttering around in my tummy. _Come on, Krys,_ I thought to myself, _Don't be such a wuss. You can do this._ I took a deep breath and entered Sherwood High for the first time.

Right when I got inside, the bell rang. I quickly searched for the office, which didn't take me as long as I thought it would, thank god. I walked up to the front desk, where a heavyset woman was typing on her computer.

"Excuse me," I said, getting her attention, "I'm new here and I need my schedule."

"Sure thing, sweetheart," the woman said nicely, still typing, "Just give me a moment. What's your name?"

"Krystal Everrest."

"Okay…" she said as she was still looking for my schedule. After a few seconds, I heard the sound of the printer working its magic. When it was done, she pulled the schedule out of the printer and handed it to me. "Here you go, sweetheart."

"Thank you," I said, looking over my schedule. My first class was language arts with Mrs. Powers. That shouldn't be so bad, since language arts was a pretty easy subject. All of a sudden, the second bell rang, which meant I was late for class. "Shit!" I muttered under my breath.

The woman chuckled as she pulled something out of the drawer of her desk. "Don't worry," she told me, writing something down on a small booklet, "I'll just write you a pass to give to your teacher." She tore a piece of paper out of the booklet and gave it to me. "Have a great first day," she smiled at me.

"Thanks," I smiled back, and then I walked out of the office.

It only took me about five minutes to find my first period class. Immediately when I walked into the room, everyone had turned their heads and started to stare at me. If there was one thing I hated more than anything in the world, it would be being the center of attention. Yeah, I know that I'm a singer and everything and I should be used to having people watch me, but I loathe it. It was scary and just plain awkward. It doesn't help when the people that are staring at you look like they wanted to attack you. They were like hawks just waiting to rip my head off. I tried to ignore them as I turned to what looked like my teacher.

"Are you Mrs. Powers?" I asked the young-looking, dark woman.

"I am," she answered, smiling at me, "You must be the new student, Krystal Everrest."

"Yes ma'am," I replied, handing her my pass, "but you can just call me Krys."

"Will do." She looked around the room for a bit. Then she pointed to a spot and said, "You can just sit in the empty seat next to Kendall."

I turned my head at the direction Mrs. Powers was pointing at. My eyes grew wide as I saw who I had to sit next to. "Fuck."

* * *

***Kendall's POV***

No. No. No. Fuck no!

It was the bitch that almost hit me with her car! And now I have to sit next to her? The girl who tried to kill me? No. I won't do it.

"Mrs. P, you can't be serious!" I exclaimed, "You know that I don't let anyone sit next to me! And to top it all off, I almost died because of her!"

Okay, maybe I was over exaggerating it a bit, but I don't give a shit. There was no way in hell I was gonna let her sit next to me. But by the looks on my teacher's face, she wasn't gonna give in.

"Kendall, stop being so ridiculous," she scowled at me, "there aren't any more seats in here and Krys seems like a very nice girl. So no arguing and be nice. And lose the beanie." Fuck my life.

I rolled my eyes as I yanked my beanie off of my head. My eyes were practically glued to the floor as Krys walked over to my- excuse me- 'our' desk. When she sat down in the chair next to mine, she pulled a book out of her purse and started to read. I took small glances of her when she wasn't looking so she wouldn't catch me.

To tell you the truth, this girl wasn't ugly at all. She was actually really beautiful. Her long, dark auburn hair looked shiny and soft. I liked how it was natural (at least I'm guessing it is) because I noticed how most girls nowadays dye it and it looked fake. She had such hypnotizing eyes. I've never seen grey-blue eyes before and I liked it. Not to mention that she had a hot body. She wasn't stick thin, but I could easily tell that she takes good care for herself. No matter how attractive she was though, I still didn't like her. I don't know why, but honestly, do I really need a reason?

We did nothing in class except read. I hate reading. It's so boring! All it does is make the class way longer than it needed to be. I'm starting to forget where I was going with this… oh yeah! While everyone else was reading and I was just texting James, I heard my name being called on. I look up and I see Mrs. Powers motioning me over to her desk. I groaned as I got up from my seat and walked over to my teacher.

"What?" I asked, not trying to sound annoyed, but it came out like that anyways. Oops.

"I was looking over everyone's schedules," she told me, "and I noticed that you and Krys have the exact same classes together." Is she freakin' kidding me? God, it's like I can't get away from this chick!

"And you're telling me this why?" I pushed, furrowing my eyebrows.

"Since she's new here, I want you to show her around and take her to her classes so that way she knows where everything is."

Great. Now I gotta be the girl's fuckin' chauffer? This is _not _how I wanna spend my day.

"No," I told her straight forward, "You can't make me."

"Why don't you want to do it?" Mrs. Powers asked, crossing her arms in front of her.

"Because one," I said, holding up a finger, "I don't like her, and two, why can't you just get someone else to show her around? Better yet, she can find her classes herself."

"Don't be ridiculous, Kendall. Krys seems like a very sweet girl. You might like her once you actually get to know her. Also, there's no point in asking someone else to help her when you have the exact same classes with her. I'll even give you extra credit if you do so. Just please help out the poor girl."

I sighed in frustration. She had to play the 'extra credit' card on me. I turned to face Krys, who was too focused on her book to notice Mrs. Powers and I talking about her. I ran my fingers through my hair. Well, I did need the extra points…

"Okay, fine!" I finally said, throwing my hands up, "I'll do it. But don't expect me to do anymore good deeds after this."

"Thank you," Mrs. Powers smiled at me.

Right then, the bell rang, meaning first period was over. Everyone was packing up and leaving the room. Hesitantly, I walked over to Krys, who was busy putting her stuff away in her bag. My body was hovered over her desk, casting a shadow above her head. She slowly looked up and when she saw me, a look of fear washed over her face.

I saw her schedule lying on the top of her desk. I picked it up and looked it up. I thought Mrs. Powers was just screwing with me when she said that Krys and I had the same schedule. Turns out she was right. We had the exact same classes right from language arts to jazz band. God damn it!

"You," I pointed to her, "Get your shit and come with me."

Krys just nodded her head and finished packing up her things. I'm surprised that the girl didn't even bother to argue or even question me. I probably scare the shit outta her. I think the more I spend time with her, she'll want nothing to do with me ever again. Perfect.

We walk side-by-side to our next class, which was history. Krys was still quiet, hands stuffed in the pocket of her sweatshirt and eyes on the ground. The silence is actually starting annoy me.

"Are you just gonna not say anything to me?" I asked her, annoyance obvious in my voice.

"What do you want me to say?" she asked, eyes still glued to the floor.

"Well, you can start by apologizing to me for almost running me over this morning."

"Oh god," she said, rolling her grey-blue eyes and shaking her head, "I did _not_ try to run you over. My brother was driving the car, not me. Besides, you were the one who totally cut us off and almost made us crash into you!"

"Yeah," I argued back, "because you tried to take _my_ spot! I've had that spot since sophomore year!"

"How the hell was I supposed to know that!" she exclaimed, "This is only my first day here!"

"Which is why you're lucky that I'm letting you off with a warning. Next time though, I don't care that you're a girl, but if you try to take my spot again, there will be hell to pay. I promise you that."

"Look, if you don't like me, why the hell are you even walking me to class?"

"Mrs. Powers promised me extra credit if I did, and I need the points!" I admitted, "I'm failing that class and believe it or not, but I actually wanna graduate, thank you very much."

"Glad to know you're doing this just for yourself," Krys said sarcastically, "not just because you're actually a nice and decent person."

"You're welcome," I said with a smug smile. Hopefully this conversation was enough to keep her away from me.

"Dick," she muttered under her breath.

"I heard that," I glared at her as we reached our history class.

"Good," she said, opening the door and stepping into the room.

I just watched her walk into the room, standing there frozen. I was shocked at the mouth that girl had on her. She obviously had no idea who she was dealing with. If she did, she'd want nothing to do with me ever again. If this was the way she was gonna be towards me, bring it on.

When history class was finally over, Krys walked over to me and sat on top of my desk. "Can I help you?" I glared at her.

"Oh come on," she smiled innocently, tapping my nose with her finger, "You didn't think you could get rid of me that easily, did you?"

Could she be any more annoying? This is how it went on for the next few hours. Whenever we walked to our classes, we were bickering and yelling at each other nonstop. I couldn't take it anymore!

It was finally fourth period, which was PE. It was one of the only classes I had with James, Logan, and Carlos. We were talking and messing around with each other when I saw Krys walk out of the girls' locker room. I'm guessing she wasn't too happy with the uniforms we had to wear because she kept fidgeting and tugging at it.

"Nice outfit," I said, trying to hold back my laughter and eying her oversized t-shirt and baggy gym shorts.

"Shut up," she glared at me, "This was the only extra uniform they had left. I'm getting a new one tomorrow."

"Good for you, princess." She flipped me off before Coach Donovan blew his whistle.

"Okay, everyone!" he bellowed, "We're going to be playing field hockey today. It's going to be boys versus girls. Who wants to be the team captains?"

"Kendall will!" James, Logan, and Carlos said at once, raising my hands in the air for me.

"Alright," Coach Donovan said, writing it down on his clipboard, "Knight it is, then."

_Yes!_ I cheered in my head, stepping up next to my PE teacher. When it comes to hockey, let's just say I'm a total badass. I'm the best hockey player at this school and everyone knows it. In a way, I feel sorry for the girls since they have to play against me. Maybe I'll go easy on them.

"And for the girls?" Coach Donovan asked, looking at the girls' team.

After a few moments of silence, someone finally raised their hand.

"I'll do it," Krys said, stepping up next to me. Was she serious?

"Very good," Coach Donovan said, "What's your name?"

"Everrest. Krys Everrest."

"Okay then," he said, "Grab your equipment and start playing. You have a half an hour."

As everyone went to go get their gear, I walked up to Krys, who was stretching. "I was thinking," I told her, "that since I'm a total beast at hockey, I'll go easy on you girls so you won't break a nail or something."

"Cocky, much?" she scoffed, "And there's no need to go easy on me. I can handle anything."

Everyone was finally ready to play. Standing in the middle of the field was me, Krys, and a hockey puck. We were staring each other down as we were in our starting positions.

"Are you sure you wanna do this?" I asked her, "I don't want you getting hurt."

"Don't worry about me, Knight," she replied, "I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself."

When Coach Donovan blew his whistle for us to start, Krys swung her hockey stick and hit the puck out of the way. The whole thing totally took me by surprise. I didn't expect her to be as good as she was. She was a pro, which was really pissing me off. At the end of the period, the girls had won, 14-0, all thanks to Krys. The girls cheered her on as I threw down my hockey stick. I was extremely pissed, probably more than the almost 'car accident'. I was a really competitive person, so when it came to sports or drug deals, I hated to lose.

"Let's go," I said to my friends through clenched teeth. They followed me to the boys' locker room and we changed into our regular clothes.

"So what was with you and that chick?" Carlos asked me, "It looks like you two do not like each other at all."

"Mrs. Powers bribed me by giving me extra credit to show Krys around school, since we have all the same classes together," I answered, pulling my grey t-shirt over my head, "She's been driving me crazy all day! I fucking hate her!" I punched my locker to let it all out.

"I think she's kinda hot," James admitted, "I'd do her all day, every day." Everyone groaned when James said that. Of course he'd say that! He says that about every hot girl he sees. Fuckin' womanizer. But for some reason, it made me mad when he said that about Krys, even though I didn't like her. I was fighting the urge to punch him in the face.

"You better not say that when you're around Lucy," Logan told him, "She'd kick your ass!"

"I'm not scared of her," James said, "Besides, Lucy's not my girlfriend. She has no right to get mad at me for calling a girl 'hot'."

"Whatever," I said, pulling my beanie over my head, "I don't wanna talk about this anymore. Let's just go."

"Aren't you gonna wait for your little 'friend'?" Logan said, making air quotes with his fingers.

I shook my head. "She doesn't need me. She can find her classes herself. Let's just get outta here."

My friends just shrugged and left the locker room. Before we walked over to the cafeteria for lunch, I looked back to the girls' locker room. I sighed and shook my head, knowing that Krys was in there. I tried to get her out of my head as I followed my friends. Serves the bitch right…

* * *

**What did you guys think? I didn't like the way it ended, to be honest. It felt rushed and I just wanted to get it done already, since I've been working on it for about a week, so sorry for the crappy ending. But I hope you liked the chapter overall! The next chapter will continue with Krys's first day at Sherwood High, and you'll meet someone who's very important in the boys' life. Plus, you'll get to see Jo, Camille, Lucy, and Stephanie in a whole other light. So PLEASE review and let me know what you think! And feel free to give me some ideas! I'll be sure to update soon! xoxo, Maddie**


	3. Underneath It All

**Hey guys! Again, super sorry it's taking a while for me to update. You have no idea how busy I've been lately, with my play and everything. But here's another chapter and I hope you guys like it! xoxo, Maddie**

* * *

**Krys's POV***

That bastard! I'm gonna fuckin' kill him! I can't believe he would just ditch me like that! Well, actually, I'm not all that surprised, since we hate each other, but still! Well, I guess it's a good thing it's lunch right now. At least I knew where the cafeteria was. That, plus I was starving! A bowl of cereal doesn't really fill up your appetite that much.

After I changed into my regular clothes (and found out that Kendall left me), I decided to finally look for my locker. Once I finally found it, I opened it up and started to fill it with my books and folders. All of a sudden, someone walked right into me and made me drop all of my things. Perfect. Just fuckin' perfect. I look up to see who ran into me and immediately regretted that decision.

A girl that looked my age with blonde hair and brown eyes glared at me. She wore a tight white t-shirt, an oversized black jacket (it kinda looked like the one Kendall was wearing earlier), really short shorts, and black Ugg boots. I noticed that she had a tongue and nose piercing. Seriously, what was with all of the people that looked like they wanted to beat me up? I'm pretty sure this isn't how first days of school isn't supposed to work.

"Ugh!" sneered the blonde girl, "Watch where you're going, bitch!" She pushed past me, leading three other girls that looked like they wanted to kill me.

"Great," I mumbled to myself, "This is just what I needed." I bent down and started picking up all of the scattered papers and notebooks that fell out of my hands.

That was when I felt someone's shadow hovering over my body.

"Let me guess," a girl's voice said, "You're new here?"

I looked up and another girl my age. She had long, wavy, black hair and pale green eyes. She was wearing a turquoise t-shirt, a white Abercrombie & Fitch jacket, black leggings, and chestnut colored Ugg boots. Around her neck was a gold chain that held up rhinestone letters that spelled out 'breathe'. She flashed me a sweet, dimpled smile. Finally, someone who seemed nice for once!

I gave a small chuckle. "Is it that obvious?"

"A little bit." She giggled when she saw the frustrated look on my face. She saw that I was struggling with picking up my stuff so she bent down and helped me out. "But it's okay. A lot of new students go through that. Well, I haven't, since I've known most of these people since pre-K."

She handed me my stuff and I placed it in my locker. "Thanks," I said, shutting my locker and then turning to face her. "Um, I didn't catch your name."

"Oh! Sorry about that," she said, "My name's Alice. Alice Farrell. I'm the school's ASB president." She held out her hand in front of her.

"I'm Krys Everrest," I told her, shaking her pale hand.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Krys," she smiled, "Since you don't know anyone here, why don't you just eat lunch with me?"

"Really?" I said, "Are you sure you don't mind?"

"Absolutely!" Alice said cheerfully, which made me smile. I liked her. She was the nicest person I've met since I came to Minnesota, which is a relief, since everyone else pretty much scares me.

"Come on," she said, "Let's go to the cafeteria."

When we got to the cafeteria, I was surprised with how packed it was. Pretty much all of the tables were filled up. It was also really loud to. Who knew teenagers in Minnesota could be so… rowdy? Luckily, Alice and I were able to find an empty table in the back. After we sat down, I pulled my brown paper bag out of my purse. I pulled out the slice of cheese pizza I had from the night before when Tyce and I got pizza for dinner.

"Smart choice on bringing your own lunch," Alice commented, "I may be the ASB president, but I'll be the first one to admit that the food here sucks."

I laughed, "I'll definitely keep that in mind for next time. The cafeteria food back in Arizona wasn't so great either."

"You're from Arizona?" she asked, "No offense, but you're much paler than I thought Arizona people were supposed to be!"

"Yeah… I get that a lot," I admitted. Alice giggled as she took a bite of her PB&J.

"I know this is a typical and dumb question," my new dimpled friend said, "but how's your first day here so far?"

I let out a big sigh as I ran my fingers through my dark hair. "I don't know," I admitted, "I think it'd be a lot better if I didn't have people that wanna kill me and a douche as a 'peer guide'."

"Who was your peer guide?"

As if on cue, Kendall walked into the cafeteria with the guys he was with this morning. I glared at the dirty blonde, which was dumb because he wasn't even looking at me. I was still pissed off because he ditched me. I mean, wouldn't you be if you were in my position?

"Him," I pointed out, continuing to shoot daggers at him with my eyes.

Alice turned to the direction I was facing. She had a confused look on her face as she tilted her head to the side. "Really? _Kendall's _your peer guide?"

Okay, it was my turned to look confused. "Wait," I said, "_You _know Kendall?"

"Yeah," Alice said as if it wasn't a big deal, "We've been friends for a long time."

"Whoa whoa whoa! You guys are friends?"

"Uh huh," she answered. I guess I still had a look of shock on my face because she said, "Yeah, a lot of people are surprised that I'm friends with them. But I've known Logan ever since we were babies."

"Which one's Logan?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot you don't know who they are." Alice pointed to the brunette, "That one's Logan Mitchell." She then pointed to the taller brunette who was fixing his hair, "Pretty boy over there is James Diamond." Then the short Latino, "That's Carlos Garcia. And of course, you know Kendall Knight."

I glared at Kendall again, who was sitting at a table on the other side of the room with his friends. He turned his head and when he saw me he gave me a nasty look. I shook my head, flipped him off, and turned back to Alice.

"I'm guessing Kendall's the reason that Jo doesn't like you," she told me.

"Who's Jo?" I asked her.

She took another bite of her sandwich before answering, "Jo Taylor's the girl who bumped into you. You know the one with the blonde hair and piercings?"

Oh yeah. _That _girl. "What does Kendall have to do with it?"

"Well," Alice said, "Kendall and Jo are... how do I put this… they're 'friends with benefits'. But Jo's pretty much obsessed with him and is super clingy with him, even though he doesn't want a relationship. So I guess all that time you spent with Kendall today made her jealous."

Great. That's exactly what I needed to hear. I groaned as I buried my face in my hands. "So who are the other girls?"

"Jo's 'posse'," Alice answered, using air quotes. She pointed to an oriental girl with long, pin-straight black hair with red streaks sitting on James's lap, "That's Lucy Stone." She then pointed to a girl with olive toned skin and long brown hair sitting on Carlos's lap, "Stephanie King." Then a girl with pale skin and curly brown hair sitting on Logan's lap. "And that's Camille Roberts."

From the look on Alice's face, she didn't like Camille at all. I think it was the way she was all over Logan like he was her most prized possession. There were hints of jealousy and hurt in Alice's green eyes. I figured she didn't wanna talk about it so I just left it alone. Finally, her expression turned back to normal and she continued to eat her lunch.

"Believe it or not, but I actually used to be friends with them," she told me.

"Really?" I said, eyes growing wide.

"Yeah, but they've hated me since ninth grade because I didn't wanna join their gang."

Did I just hear her correctly? No, I couldn't have. "I'm sorry, but did you just say 'their _gang'_?"

She nodded her head. "They're all in a gang called 'Burning Star'. Kendall's their leader. Back when they first started it, Jo's been trying to get me in it. I told her no because that's not the life I wanted. The guys were totally fine with my decision, but the girls hate me for it. Camille hates me the most though, but that's because of my friendship with Logan."

So that's why they were so intimidating. It was basically their job. Even though they definitely looked the part, it's kinda hard for me to believe that they were actually part of a gang, with actual weapons like guns and knives. Believe me, I was even more scared shitless than before, but in a way, it was a bit… intriguing. If it was anyone else, I would want nothing to do with them. But with Kendall… it's a whole other story.

I guess I was so deep in thought I didn't even notice Logan sneak up behind Alice and cover her eyes.

"Guess who?" he said, the corner of his mouth turning into a smirk.

"Hmmm…" she responded, tapping her index finger on her chin, "Is he sweet, funny, and oh so gorgeous?"

"Yes, he is," Logan answered, still smirking.

"It's Justin Timberlake," she guessed, giggling. The brunette scoffed as he sat down in between her and me.

"Please," he said, "I am _way _sexier than that Justin guy."

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that," Alice smiled, taking a bite of her lunch.

"You're so mean to me," Logan pouted, jutting out his bottom lip. All my new friend did was laugh.

"It's all out of love," she said, patting him on the cheek.

If I didn't know Alice and Logan, I could've mistaken them as a couple. The way they interacted with each other was cute. It was like they were so comfortable with each other. Well, she did say that they've known each other since they were babies. I wouldn't be surprised if they had feelings for each other. It's funny though, because they were so different from each other. Logan had that dark and mysterious demeanor while Alice seemed so bubbly and outgoing. Not to mention that he was in a gang and she was ASB president. I guess opposites do attract.

"Oh!" Alice said, snapping me out of my thoughts, "Where are my manners?" She turned to me and said, "Krys, this is Logie- I mean, Logan. Logan, this is my new friend, Krys."

"Oh yeah, I remember you," Logan smirked, "You're the girl that kicked our asses in PE today. I have to say, I'm actually kinda impressed."

"Thanks," I said, "and I remember you, too. You're the guy that flipped off my brother and me this morning before school."

"That was _you_?" he asked, as if it was unbelievable. He grimaced and rubbed the back of his neck as I nodded my head. "Well, I guess I owe you an apology, then."

I waved my hand in the air. "Don't sweat it. I forgive you."

"Really? Thanks." With that, he gave me a genuine smile. It made me even more curious to know what was behind the guyliner and snakebites these guys were sporting. Was there actually some good behind it?

"Logan," Alice said to him, drawing his attention, "are you still coming over to my house to study?"

The brunette looked a bit guilty as he ran his fingers through his fauxhawk. "Yeah, about that…"

Alice's perky face fell as she caught on. "You can't come over, can you?"

"I'm really sorry," Logan apologized, "The guys and I have some shit we need to take care of tonight and I can't back out of it. You have no idea how bad I feel. Maybe we can do it tomorrow night?"

The green-eyed girl sighed as she played with a strand of her black hair. "Sure, I guess."

Logan smiled as he wrapped his arms around her. "Thanks, Ali. You're the best."

"Ahem!"

Logan and Alice looked up and saw Camille standing over them with her arms crossed. She didn't look too pleased with their embrace. Talk about awkward.

"Hey, Camille," Logan said sheepishly, "What's up?"

"Why are you talking to _her_?" the brunette girl sneered, glaring at the sweet black haired one.

What Logan did next didn't really surprise me much, but it was still pretty harsh. He looked Alice dead in the eye and said, "No reason." It was almost as if he was ashamed to be with her. I watched as Alice continued to play with her hair. I felt bad for the girl.

"Well then, let's go," Camille demanded, pulling him by the arm, "I have geometry next period and I really don't feel like going, so maybe we could do something to make the time go by." Okay, I didn't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out what she meant, and now I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna be getting that image outta my head anytime soon.

It seemed like Logan was a bit hesitant to take Camille up on her offer. But you know teenage boys; who wouldn't wanna ditch class to do the nasty? Logan got up from his chair and Camille grabbed his wrist and started to pull him away. "Later, Alice," he said weakly before walking away.

"Bye," Alice said as he watched him leave. When he was out of our sight, she let out a big sigh and rubbed her head with her hand. After a few moments, she turned to me and gave me a weak smile.

"You okay?" I asked her.

She nodded her head before answering, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" I asked uncertainly.

"Yeah," she reassured me, "Don't worry about it. It's actually really normal for us. It's okay." Wow. Honestly, if I was in her shoes right now, I'd be pissed. If she was, she had a great way of showing it. She was strong, which was one of the things I liked about her.

All of a sudden, the bell rang, signaling that it was time for our next class. I didn't realize how fast thirty minutes flew by. I stood up and tried to get Kendall's attention as he got up from his chair.

"Kendall! Kendall!" I called out, earning stares from a few people. The fuckin' idiot didn't even look my way! He just kept walking away, and I'm pretty damn sure he heard me, too. "God dammit! What an asshole!"

"What happened?" Alice asked. I huffed as I turned to her.

"Kendall was supposed to walk me to my next class," I explained, "but being the douchebag he is, he left me!" I looked at my schedule to find out what my next class was. "Do you know where the band room is?"

"Oh yeah!" she said, her sunny smile reappearing on her face, "It's right next to my physics class. I can take you there."

"You sure?"

"Absolutely!" She got up and held out her elbow. "Come on. We don't wanna be late."

I smiled back at my new friend before linking elbows with her. "Let's hit it, then."

* * *

***Kendall's POV***

It might sound a bit weird coming from me, but I couldn't wait to get to my fifth period class. It was my favorite class ever, and maybe it'll perk me up after a shitty day so far. I step into the band room and breathed in the smell of freshly cleaned instruments. I considered this room to be like my second home. Hopefully, my guitar was back from the repair shop. It had been two week since I last played it and a few of the strings had broken. My guitar was pretty much my baby, and I missed my baby.

"Wassup, Mr. Gokey?" I greeted my favorite teacher, who was filing some sheet music.

Mr. Gokey was a young teacher, probably in his early thirties. He had brown, spiky hair and a goatee. He had black, Ray-Ban nerd glasses framing his brown eyes. He was a few inches shorter than me and had a built shape. He was wearing a red V-neck, dark grey blazer, dark jeans, and black Converse. Mr. Gokey was probably the chilliest person I've ever met. We've also gotten very close over the past few years, since he's been my music teacher since I was a freshman. He's one of my biggest heroes.

"Hey there, Kendall," he smiled at me, "Guess what came today?"

I smiled as I realized what he was talking about. "My guitar came back from the shop?"

"It's in my office right now."

I didn't hesitate to run into the teacher's office. When I was inside, I looked around until I spotted a black case. When I opened it up, I smiled to myself of the sight in front of me. I reached in and picked up my shiny, black Gibson Les Paul. It was if it had just been bought, mint condition. I strummed it a bit. It was perfect.

I walked out of Mr. Gokey's office and sat on my chair. I plugged the guitar chord to my instrument and its amplifier and began to tune. As I was doing so, I see a pissed of Krys walking in the room. When she spotted me, I pretended I didn't see her and continued to tune my guitar.

"You," she said, glaring and pointing at me, "You are in _so_ much trouble!"

"Take a number and wait in line with the other people that have a problem with me," I told her, still not looking at her.

"Why the hell would you just ditch me like that?" she yelled at me, stepping closer to me, "Just because I beat your ass in hockey?"

I scoffed at her. This bitch… "Please. Don't flatter yourself. Just because you won one game it doesn't make you the shit."

"And after lunch, I called you over but you didn't even acknowledge me!" she continued, "I'm pretty sure you heard me, too. I mean, come on, who wouldn't be able to hear that?"

"It's not my job to wait on you, princess," I said, breaking my focus from my guitar to her.

"Did anyone ever tell you you're a complete dickhead?"

"Did anyone ever tell _you_ that I don't give a shit about what you think of me?" I set my guitar down and stood up so I was taller than her. It's like she didn't know when to quit and it was really starting to piss me off.

"God, I can't believe out of all of the students at this school I got stuck with you!" she argued, jabbing a finger into my chest.

I swiped her hand away from me. "Trust me. I don't wanna be with you more than you wanna be with me. Are we done here? I have more important things to do than to stand here and argue with you all day."

"No, I'm not done!" she yelled. I looked around and pretty much everyone in the room was staring at our little scene. I shot a threatening glare at them and they immediately when back to setting up their instruments and tuning. God, I wish I had some duct tape to make this girl shut the fuck up. "Ditch me again, I swear to god, I will -"

"Is there a problem here?"

Krys and I both turned around to see Mr. Gokey watching us, arms crossed and eyebrow raised. Immediately, different shades of red started showing on Krys's pale cheeks. Just by that, I could tell that this girl easily got embarrassed, which was weird, because Mr. Gokey was probably the least intimidating teacher at this school.

"N-No," she stuttered, "Not at all."

"Yeah, there's no problem here," I added. I decided to be a smartass so I wrapped an arm around Krys's shoulder and smiled at my teacher. "I was just catching up with my good friend here. Ain't that right, _Krystal_?"

Krys immediately shoved me away from her. She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes at me. I noticed that there was a weird look in her eyes when I called her Krystal. They looked a bit sad. Almost as if it touched her somewhere. I didn't know whether to feel bad or annoyed, like she's been making me feel all day.

"So you're the new student?" Mr. Gokey asked her, reaching his hand out to shake hers.

"Yes, I am," Krys answered, shaking his hand, "and I go by Krys."

"Cool with me," he smiled at her. "Well, welcome to jazz ensemble. I'm Mr. Gokey and I'm the music director here. So what instrument do you play?"

"Um…" was Krys's answer. Did she seriously not know how to play an instrument? If so, what the hell was she doing here? She just stood there and ran her hand through her hair like an idiot. I chuckled a bit as she continued to search for a better answer. She must've heard me because she glared at me.

Mr. Gokey didn't seem to mind, though. "You know what?" he told her, "That's okay. For the first few days, you can just sit and watch us rehearse. If you hear an instrument you like, tell me and we can get you to start practicing so you can join in on the fun."

"That sounds like a plan," Krys said, smiling.

"Cool. So find a seat and we'll begin."

Krys looked around for a chair and when she finally found one, she pulled it over by where Mr. Gokey's music stand was and sat down. Of course, she had to be right by me. She looked a bit awkward in her, probably because she was either the only girl in the room or she wasn't doing anything.

"Alright, guys," Mr. Gokey said, cleaning his glasses and placing them back on, "We've got a ton of stuff to do today. We have our winter concert coming up next month, and we need to start figuring out our set list. So that means we're gonna have to work really hard, but I know we can do it. Let's begin with our warm-up and we'll figure out what we wanna play from there."

He started snapping his fingers to a steady rhythm. Brennan, our drummer, tapped along at the same pace as our teacher.

Mr. Gokey began to count us off. "1… 2… 1, 2, 3, 4."

We then began to play our warm-up. Damn, even though it has only been a couple of weeks, I really missed playing my guitar. Whenever I played, I felt like I was a totally different person, as if nothing else mattered. All of my troubles and worries involving my gang and family disappeared from my head. Music was the only thing I was truly passionate about. I always found it fascinating the way one would lose themselves while creating music. One of the reasons I loved this class so much was because when I step foot into this room, I feel like I'm actually somebody. It's one of the best feelings in the world… until I eventually leave this fantasy and return to reality. All I can do is make the best of these sixty minutes, even if that means I have to have a girl that I truly can't stand sit next to me the whole time.

***Krys's POV***

Wow. Just… wow. I had no idea.

When I first laid eyes on Kendall, I would have never guessed he would have that much interest in music. All of that changed when I heard the notes coming from the guitar he was strumming. He was good._ Really _good. Now that I think of it, good would be an understatement. I felt I was actually seeing him for the first time. He didn't look like Kendall Knight, the intimidating, badass gang leader. He looked like Kendall Knight, the passionate musician. Throughout the whole period, I was under his spell. Surprisingly, I didn't mind one bit.

His playing pretty much put me in a trance. I wanted to hear more, but before I knew it, the bell rang for our next class, snapping me out of my daydream. I watched him put away his guitar and grab his things. I saw him pick up my own bag and he handed it to me, telling me, "Let's go. We don't wanna be late to our next class."

As I walked with him, I couldn't help but think that this whole 'gangbanger' persona was all fake. I don't believe it's really him. I'm not saying that I don't believe that he is a gang leader, but I believe that there's more to him than what he's displaying to everyone else. So, who is Kendall Knight? What's his story? I don't know, but I'm damn sure I'll do everything I can to find out…

* * *

**Well, I hope you guys liked it! I personally thought it was okay. I keep getting writer's block and it's annoying as hell! I honestly don't know what I'm gonna do for the next chapter so feel free to give me your ideas! Since my birthday's this Tuesday (June 5), it'd be a nice present to see new reviews! I love you guys! xoxo, Maddie**


	4. There For You

***Krys's POV***

This has probably been the slowest week ever. I've only been here for four days and I couldn't wait for it to end. By now, I already knew where my classes and everything else was, no thanks to Kendall, so I didn't really need him anymore. We haven't really made that much of conversation with each other ever since my first day on Monday, but whenever we did talk, it always ended up turning into an argument. To be honest, I hated fighting with him. I really wanted to be his friend, but whenever I tried, he just pushes me away. I didn't understand what his deal was. Why wouldn't he just let me get to know him more? Was that so hard?

And on top of that, Jo and her gang of girls were always threatening me, which was starting to annoy me. I didn't even do anything wrong! I'm just glad that I had met Alice, who had already become my best friend here. Surprising, I was even starting to warm up to Logan a bit. He wasn't as threatening as I thought he would be. It turns out that he was actually really smart, probably as smart as Alice. The guy had a freakin' 4.5 GPA, which was impressive to me, since I only had a 3.4 GPA. All in all, despite the fact that he was in a gang and was hooking up with Camille, Logan was a good guy. It made me thankful that someone other than Alice was actually nice to me here. I couldn't really say much about James and Carlos, since I still haven't really talked to them yet. If only I could just break the wall between me and Logan's other best friend…

Right now, it was lunchtime. Unfortunately, Alice couldn't sit with me today because she had a meeting for ASB. I just decided to go to the band room, since I wasn't really that hungry. Maybe I could finally find an instrument to play in jazz band because I still haven't decided on anything yet. I walked into the room to find no one in sight.

"Hello?" I called out, "Is anyone in here?"

Not even a minute later, the door to Mr. Gokey's office opened and he stepped out of the little room. He smiled when he saw me. "Hey there, Krys. What's up?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Nothing much," I answered, "I wasn't feeling that hungry today and I didn't have anything else to do, so here I am. I also figured I could probably pick something to play for jazz band."

"Well, I'm about to go get my lunch right now," he told me, "but you're free to look around and if you see an instrument you like, you can just play around with it for a bit. Just make you put everything back where it was, okay?"

"Got it," I said, "Thanks, Mr. Gokey."

"Anytime, kiddo," he said, smiling. He patted my shoulder and then walked out of the room.

I shoved my hands into the pockets of my jacket and walked around the room, whistling a bit. I picked up a trumpet from one of the cabinets and placed my lips on the mouthpiece. I tried to play it, but no sound would come out. My face was starting to turn red and I starting to feel lightheaded the harder I blew. After about a few more seconds, I was able to finally get something out of it, but it wasn't the sound I meant to make. It sounded more like a loud horn honking that almost blew out my eardrums. I pulled the trumpet away from my mouth as quickly as I could.

"Okay, I'm pretty sure I'm gonna go deaf from that," I said to myself, rubbing my ear, "The trumpet is definitely not for me." I put the trumpet back in the cabinet and searched for something else to play.

It's been about ten minutes and I've had absolutely no luck. Every other instrument was either really out of tune, broken, or I just plain sucked at playing them. I was about to throw a fit from frustration until I saw the beautiful black grand piano on the other side of the room. I walked over to it and swiped my hand on its cold, smooth surface. It's been about six months since I had last touched a piano, and it instantly brought a smile to my face. I softly pressed down on a random few of the black and white keys, creating an unfamiliar melodic sound. I sat down on the stool in front of the piano and played those same notes again. That actually sounded good. Then an idea hit me.

Before I could lose memory of that sound, I quickly grabbed an empty music sheet and a pencil from my purse and began to write. I loved writing music. To me, it was the best stress reliever. Lyrics and melodies just came naturally to me as they left my brain and traveled down to the music sheet in front of me. I had a few writer's block moments here and there, but after about eight minutes, I stared at the piece of music in front of me. In my opinion, it was the best song I'd ever written so far. I was honestly scared to write, play, or sing again because I haven't done any of that since my parents had died and I thought that I had lost my ability. But in the end, it all sounded good. After looking over the music a couple of times, I decided it was time to finally put it all together and test it out. I took a few deep breaths, hovered my fingers over the keys, and started to play as if I had never quit in the first place.

* * *

***Kendall's POV***

I rubbed my tired eyes as I made my way towards the band room. I was out late last night for a drug deal and I didn't get home till two. Of course, I had to be very careful to not wake up my mom and Katie. Even when I was settled into bed, it took me about another two hours to finally fall asleep. I don't know why, but I couldn't help but get Krys stuck in my mind. She was just so damn irritating! We're pretty much at each other's throat every day, and it was getting annoying. I'm not gonna lie and say that I didn't feel bad, but she wasn't doing much to make life easier for me. She just made me even more stressed out. And now, thanks to her, I'm exhausted as fuck.

I was about to step into the band room before I heard someone playing the piano in there. I was confused. Mr. Gokey's usually out getting lunch right now. Who was in there? I poked my head inside the room and saw someone with long dark auburn hair playing. That was when I realized it was… Krys? What the hell? I thought she didn't know how to play an instrument. She's definitely proving me wrong right now as she continued to play. It sounded… beautiful. I never would've guessed she was able to play like that. I quickly learned that that wasn't all that she was able to do when she opened her mouth.

_Young girl, don't cry  
I'll be right here when your world starts to fall  
Young girl, it's all right  
Your tears will dry, you'll soon be free to fly_

When you're safe inside your room you tend to dream  
Of a place where nothing's harder than it seems  
No one ever wants or bothers to explain  
Of the heartache life can bring and what it means

When there's no one else  
Look inside yourself  
Like your oldest friend  
Just trust the voice within  
Then you'll find the strength  
That will guide your way  
If you will learn to begin  
To trust the voice within

I was glad that it was just us in the room right now because I probably looked like an idiot. Call me 'cliché', but I don't think I've ever heard a voice that was so pure and angelic. As I listened on, I slowly started gaining some respect for this girl. I was starting to feel something else, too. Something I've never really felt before, but I couldn't exactly put my finger on it… I stared at her in amazement as I continued to hear Krys sing.

Young girl, don't hide  
You'll never change if you just run away  
Young girl, just hold tight  
And soon you're gonna see your brighter day

Now in a world where innocence is quickly claimed  
It's so hard to stand your ground when you're so afraid  
No one reaches out a hand for you to hold  
When you're lost outside look inside to your soul

When there's no one else  
Look inside yourself  
Like your oldest friend  
Just trust the voice within  
Then you'll find the strength  
That will guide your way  
If you will learn to begin  
To trust the voice within

Yeah...  
Life is a journey  
It can take you anywhere you choose to go  
As long as you're learning  
You'll find all you'll ever need to know

You'll make it  
You'll make it  
Just don't go forsaking yourself  
No one can stop you  
You know that I'm talking to you

When there's no one else  
Look inside yourself  
Like your oldest friend  
Just trust the voice within  
Then you'll find the strength  
That will guide your way  
If you will learn to begin  
To trust the voice within

Young girl don't cry  
I'll be right here when your world starts to fall

When Krys played the last few notes of her song, she looked like she was in a bit of a shock, too. She probably didn't expect for that to come out, either. A smile crept on her face as she tried to catch her breath. "Wow…" she managed to breathe out.

"You can say that again," I said, forgetting that she didn't even know that I was in the same room as her.

"Oh my god!" she shrieked, jumping her seat a little bit and accidentally slamming her hands down on the keys. She looked up and saw me standing in front of her. I just simply waved and tried to hold back my laughter from looking at the expression on her face.

"Jesus, Kendall!" she gasped, placing her hand over her heart, "You scared the shit outta me!"

"My bad," I said as I pulled up a chair and sat down next to her. I leaned back in my chair, placed my hands behind my head, and rest my feet on her lap, not even bothering to ask if it was okay with her. "What were just playing?" I asked, nodding my head towards the piece of music lying on the stand of the piano.

"Um…" she answered shakily. Was I making her nervous? If I was, I bet the fact that my feet were resting on her wasn't helping her cause that much. "Nothing. It was just… nothing."

Bullshit. I reached over and grabbed the music sheet before she could. As I looked it over, I notice that this wasn't something that she could've easily printed out from a computer.

"Did you actually write this?" I asked her, holding it up.

Krys nodded her head. "Yeah, I did. In ten minutes, actually."

Damn. Ten minutes? It usually takes me about an hour to get a song as good as this done. "Well, I think it's really good," I admitted to her.

"Really?" she asks in disbelief. The corners of her mouth turn up into a small smile as I nodded my head. "Thanks."

"I didn't know you could sing," I said, giving her music back.

"Yeah," she responded, "My mom told me that I used to always run around the house and sing when I was little. Apparently, I used to always sing 'A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes' all the time. I guess that explains why I love Cinderella so much."

I chuckled along with her. "So how long have you been playing?"

"Ever since I was ten," she answered, playing random notes on the piano, "but I haven't played for about six months though."

"How come?" I asked.

I got a little nervous when Krys didn't answer right away. She was trying to avoid eye contact with me so she looked down at me feet and started playing with my shoelaces. After a few moments of silence, she said softly, "My family and I got into a car accident, and… my parents died on the spot."

I immediately felt bad for her, mostly because I know what it's like to lose a parent. When I was six years old and Katie was just a baby, our dad was killed during a gang war. The first and only time I had cried in my life, besides when I was a baby, was when I found out that my dad wasn't coming home that night.

"Shit," I mumbled, "I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

"It's okay," Krys said, giving me a weak smile, "You didn't know. But yeah, after they died, I fell into a bad depression and I stopped playing. This is the first time I've played or sang since then."

"Well, either way," I said, sitting next to her on the stool, "you're an incredible musician. I don't say that to just anybody. I've been around music long enough to know whether someone has talent or not. Trust me, you have talent."

She looked a bit taken back by my compliment, and believe me, so was I. That was probably the nicest thing I've ever said to anyone. It felt weird.

"I don't get you, Kendall," she randomly said to me, looking a bit serious.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "What do you mean, 'you don't get me'?"

"I mean," she said, "I've tried to be nice to you for the past few days, but all you've done is get pissed off at me every time I say something. I don't understand what I've done to make you hate me so much."

Neither did I, to be honest. "I don't know what to say because I know that you didn't do anything," I answered, "I think I was just trying to push you away on purpose."

"But why?"

"Because you scare me," I answered honestly. There, I said it. It's off my chest. Happy now?

I think I just confused her more than ever. She pointed to herself. "_I _scare _you_? Me, out of all people?"

"Yeah," I admitted, "You scare me because you give me this weird instinct. I can't find a way to describe it, but I feel like if I got too close to you, you'll be gone. I don't want that to happen so I tried pushing you away. Unfortunately, that just makes me feel worse. I can't get you outta my mind, and it's been driving me fuckin' insane and I can't sleep at night. I honestly don't know why, but I can't afford to lose you. I… I think I need you in my life, Krys."

I couldn't believe I had actually said those things. Why did it take me until now to finally realize that? I look down at my hands, feeling a bit ashamed and embarrassed. I probably scared the shit outta her even more right now.

But instead of running away, she placed her fingers under my chin and lifted my head up so that I was staring into her grey-blue eyes. She flashed a breathtaking smile at me which automatically made me feel better.

"I'm actually relieved to hear you say that, Kendall," she said to me, "You probably couldn't get rid of me if you tried. I should be running from you right now, telling you to stay away from me, but instead, I'm drawn to you more than ever. I can't describe it, either, but there's just something about you that just makes me want to get close to you and get to know you better. I promise I'll always be right here for you only if you promise to let me. But I'm telling you right now, no matter how hard you try, I'm not going anywhere."

Out of instinct, I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her to me. Krys had one arm wrapped around my neck and her other hand running through my hair. I've never felt this much comfort in my life, which was what I really needed right now. I buried my face in her neck and breathed in her scent, which was like cinnamon.

"Thank you, Krys," I said to her, "for being here for me. And I'm sorry for the way I've been treating you."

"That doesn't matter anymore," she whispered in my ear, "We're better now, and that's all that matters."

* * *

**Yeah, to be honest, I don't know how I feel about this chapter. If it's a bit confusing at the end, I apologize. I think I even confused myself a bit! I wasn't gonna put this chapter up until about two chapters later but I really don't wanna drag this story out. Plus I just wanted to update this already. But that's just my opinion. PLEASE review, let me know that people are reading this, and feel free to share your ideas with me! I also wanna say thank you to everyone that wished me a happy birthday. It really means a lot to me. Okay, I'm gonna shut up now, so peace! xoxo, Maddie**


	5. Hard To Concentrate

***Krys's POV***

I'm so happy that it's finally Friday! That means I survived my second week of school in Minnesota! Whoo hoo! It wasn't easy, let me tell you that, but I was able to manage. My teachers were pretty cool and were helping me catch up on the topics I had missed. The classes were pretty easy, too. Even with the stuff I didn't quite understand, Alice and even Logan helped me until I was able to get it. I was still getting death glares from Jo and her army of skanks, but thankfully, I had Alice by my side so I wasn't alone.

My highlight of these past couple of weeks, in my opinion, was that conversation I had with Kendall that day in the band room. I was so glad that we were now on good terms. To me, he was the most underestimated person I've ever met. He really did have a good heart, even though he wouldn't let everyone else know it. He cared so much for his friends and family and it showed in his commitment and pride towards his gang. It did really disappoint me that he was in a gang, because he has so much potential to do greater things. Honestly, there was nothing I could do about it. I could try to talk him about possibly dropping out of 'Burning Star', but that boy will literally do anything to protect the people he cares for, and I respect that. I really wish that he showed his love for others in a different way, but whatever, it's his choice. Still, I can only hope, right?

Right now, Tyce and I had just come home from grocery shopping and my arms were so sore! We probably wiped out the whole store with all of the stuff that we got.

"I can't believe we just bought all of this food!" I said, setting the last grocery bag on the kitchen floor, "This is ridiculous!"

"It's like lifting weights at the gym," Tyce added, "I hope I gained at least _some_ muscle from that!"

"Come here and flex and arm," I said, motioning my brother to me. He walked over to me, rolled up his sleeve of his jacket, and flexed his tan arm. I wrapped my hand around it and gave it a little squeeze. It was pretty firm, but I decided to be the loving sister I am and joked, "Yeah, you should just stick to the gym."

"You're such a little brat!" he said, pulling his arm away.

"Oh, come on!" I exclaimed, wrapping my arms around his waist, "I'm just kidding! Besides, you can't stay mad at me."

He looked down at me with his eyebrows raised. I gave him my best sweet smile and innocent eyes, trying to make him crack.

"Ew, get away from me, ugly," Tyce laughed, pulling away from me.

I gasped dramatically and placed my hand over my heart. "That is mean!"

He shrugged and said, "Well, you started it! Come help me put these groceries away."

While we were putting the food away, my phone started vibrating in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw that I had a new text from Kendall.

**Sent to: Krys Everrest**

**From: Kendall Knight**

**Hey, Krys! You know you left your notebook on your desk in chemistry, right?**

I looked into my purse and saw that he was right. My notebook wasn't where it should be. Dammit! I replied back to Kendall.

**Sent to: Kendall Knight**

**From: Krys Everrest**

**I did? Shit! Did you get it for me?**

It took no longer than a minute for him to answer back, and what he really put didn't shock me at all.

**Sent to: Krys Everrest**

**From: Kendall Knight**

**Yeah I did, don't worry. I'll bring it back to you during first period on Monday. BTW, I like your songs. They're catchy ;)**

**Sent to: Kendall Knight**

**From: Krys Everrest **

**Hey now! Who said you could look through my notebook?**

**Sent to: Krys Everrest **

**From: Kendall Knight**

**Um, I did! That's what you get for leaving your shit where people can easily take it! Dork :P**

I shook my head as I chuckled to myself. That's just like Kendall. I was about to text him back until I saw my nosy brother looking over my shoulder at my phone.

"Can I help you?" I chuckled.

"Who are you texting?" he asked me, eyes still on my phone.

"No one," I said, moving my phone away, "Man, nosy much?"

Tyce probably has serious lightning speed because all of a sudden, he yanked my phone out of my hand and started reading through my messages. I kept jumping up and down to try to get it back. My brother was at least six feet and to my misfortune, I was only five feet and seven inches tall, making it a bit difficult for me to reach.

"Ooh, who's Kendall?" Tyce teased, "Is he your new boyfriend?"

"No, he is not!" I defended, trying to jump higher, "He's just a friend!"

He just ignored me and continued to snoop through my phone. What is it with people looking through my stuff? Has anyone ever heard of privacy? Anyways, I think Tyce saw the photo I put for Kendall's ID because his mouth just gaped open like a fish.

"Wait," he said with a shocked expression on his face, "Isn't this the guy from Monday morning?"

"Yeah…" I said uneasily, rubbing the back of my neck.

"The one that practically killed us with his truck?" he added with his eyebrow raised.

I snatched my phone back from Tyce and stuffed it back into my pocket, not that he would've even noticed. "He didn't kill us," I replied, "You're such a drama queen. Why is it so surprising that I talk to him?"

"Um, have you seen the guy?" Tyce asked me in disbelief, "I'll admit that he's hot and everything, but he looks kinda… dangerous."

"Tyce, relax," I chuckled, "He's not a freakin' werewolf. He's a person. Don't be so quick to judge him." Okay, that may have sounded a bit hypocritical since I labeled Kendall as a stereotypical gangbanger. I'll admit that I was wrong, since we've gotten to know each other a bit more.

My brother, on the other hand, looked a bit uneasy at the situation. "I don't know, Krys," he told me, "I've seen guys just like him back in Arizona, and I'm not sure if I like you hanging around him. How much do you even know about this guy?"

"Well," I said a bit nervously, "I know that he's in a gang." The look on my brother's face was in pure horror, almost like how mine was when I first found out the fact myself. "But before you say anything," I said quickly before he could, "He's not as bad as you think he is. He's actually a really nice guy. A bit of a smartass at times, but nice."

I could tell that Tyce wasn't really buying it, and if I was in his shoes right now, I wouldn't either. Unlike him, though, I actually know Kendall enough to believe it.

"And instead of judging him," I continued, "you should be thanking Kendall."

"For what?" he asked, confused.

"Because of him," I answered, "I am Sherwood High's new jazz ensemble singer."

Tyce's face lit up like I've never seen before. I haven't seen him smile like that since we went to the midnight showing of 'Breaking Dawn' last year.

"You're singing again?" he asked me, smiling wider.

I nodded my head. "I was bored one day so I decided to just hang out in the band room. I was messing around with the piano and all of a sudden, a song just came to me. I wrote it down and started playing it… Tyce, I swear it was the best thing I've written in my life. Kendall heard me and thought that I was really good. He then told me that Mr. Gokey has been looking for a singer for jazz ensemble so he said that I should do it. So after lunch Kendall talked to Mr. Gokey and I played my song for him. Right then and there, he declared me as the singer for jazz ensemble."

"Krys, that is so awesome!" he exclaimed, wrapping his arms around my waist and spinning me around, "I'm so glad that you're singing again! So when's your first concert? I wanna be sitting way up front to hear to perform in public-"

"Whoa, slow down, turbo," I chuckled, "My concert's not for another few weeks. I promise I'll let you know so you can get front row seats."

"You better," he joked, poking my nose.

Right then, 'Drive' by Incubus filled the room. I pulled my phone back out of my pocket and saw that Kendall was calling me. Just as I was about to answer the phone, Tyce yanked the phone out of my hand. He pressed 'Accept' and held it up to his ear.

"Tyce, what the hell?" I exclaimed, "Give me my phone back!"

"Hello?" my brother said into the phone, ignoring me.

"Dude, I'm serious!" I said, trying to grab the phone out of my hands.

Instead of answering me, he just put his hand in front of my face. "I'm sorry, who is this?" he asked Kendall. I rolled my eyes at my brother's idiocy. "I'm sorry, she's in the bathroom right now. Do you need me to send a message to her?"

Annoyed as hell, I jumped on Tyce and wrestled him for my phone. After about two minutes of play-fighting and trying to escape from his grasps, I finally got ahold of my beloved cellular device.

"_Hello?"_ Kendall said from the other line, _"Is anyone there?"_

"Hey Kendall, it's Krys," I finally said, trying to catch my breath.

"_Hey," _he said, _"Um, is this a bad time?"_

"No, not at all," I quickly replied, "Sorry about that. My brother was just being a little bitch right now and wouldn't give me my phone back." I glared at Tyce, who was trying so hard not to laugh, and kicked him in his ass.

"_Oh, okay,"_ he chuckled, _"So what's up?"_

"Nothing, really," I answered, putting the water bottles we had just bought in the refrigerator, "I just got home from the market and I'm putting some stuff away. What's up with you?"

"_I'm just driving to a friend's house right now," _he answered, _"They needed my help with something so I'm going over there to take care of it."_

"What are you gonna do, hold people against their will?" I joked.

"_Hey now,"_ he said from the other end, his smile visible from his voice, _"What kind of guy do you think I am?"_

"The mysterious kind that doesn't really give a shit about what people think about you," I answered honestly.

"_Is that a good thing?"_ he asked me.

I shrugged my shoulders, which was dumb since he couldn't see me. "I don't know. It honestly depends on how people would think of it."

"_I don't know whether I should be offended or take that as a compliment,"_ he said, chuckling a bit, _"If it was a compliment, thanks, I guess."_

"Don't worry, it was a compliment," I assured him, "and you're welcome." It got quiet really fast and it was starting to get a bit awkward for me. "So, was there a specific reason why you're calling me when you should be focusing on the road? We don't want you getting hurt now, do we?"

Kendall chuckled again for probably the fifth time ever since we got on the phone. For some reason, I started to feel like there was something fluttering in my stomach… was it butterflies?

"_No, there wasn't really a specific reason,"_ he answered, _"I just… really wanted to talk to you."_

Wow. It was a good thing that we weren't face to face right now because I could feel my face burning up. Was I actually blushing? I looked in the mirror that was in the kitchen (why it was there, I have no idea) and saw that indeed, I was. No guy has ever made me blush before. Not even the guys I dated back in Arizona succeeded in 'wooing' me. It only took Kendall a few words to make my cheeks turn red, contrasting from my pale face. This was definitely a first.

"Well, that's sweet of you to say," I said, smiling, even though he couldn't see it.

"_Well, it's the truth,"_ he told me. It was silent again for a few seconds before he said, _"Hey, I'm at my friend's house right now so I gotta go. I'll talk to you later though, okay?" _

"Okay," I said, "Have fun and don't torture too many people."

"_I'm not making any promises,"_ he joked. At least, I think he was joking, _"Bye, Krys."_

"Bye, Kendall," I said before hanging up.

After I hung up, I filled a pot up with water, set it on top of the stove, and turned on the fire. I walked over to the pantry and grabbed the ingredients I needed to make spaghetti, garlic bread, and salad. As I was cooking dinner for Tyce and me, I couldn't help but worry about Kendall. I knew nothing was going to stop him from protecting his friends and family by being in this gang, but I just really hope he doesn't get hurt. Knowing him, he won't let anything get in his way when it comes to getting what he wants and it scares me. If I talk to him, he won't listen to me. I just know it. The only thing I can do for Kendall at the moment is pray and hope that things will get better for him…

* * *

***Kendall's POV***

Right now, I'm lying on my back on Jo's couch and she's straddling me. I had gotten off the phone with Krys about ten minutes ago when I arrived at Jo's house. Eight of those minutes consisted of Jo and me making out. When things started to heat up, we had moved from the kitchen to the couch in the living room. I pulled away from the kiss for a second to pull her tight grey tank top over her head. Jo yanked the zipper down on my black jacket and pulled it off my shoulders. She then pulled my green V-neck off and tossed it into the pile of clothes we started to make next to the coffee table. Her hands started roaming around my chest as she kissed, licked, and sucked on my neck. I just tangled one hand in her hair and rested the other on her waist.

Normally, I would enjoy this, but tonight… I don't know. I just wasn't feeling it. I wasn't even that hard for her. Krys was just stuck on my mind, like she has been for two weeks. I don't know if it had to do with the fact that we were just talking to each other not that long ago. To be honest, I didn't wanna hang up on her, but I had promised Jo that I would come over because she said that she was feeling… lonely, to put it mildly. She also said that she hasn't really been with me in a while and she missed me. I didn't buy it because I know that she's been hooking up and fucking with guys from Avalanche High, which wasn't too far from Sherwood, but who am I to turned down a good fuck? Actually, I'd rather be at home and talking on the phone with Krys than have sex on the couch with Jo.

Jo was traveling down my body, placing wet and sloppy kisses down my torso. She traced my v-line as she whispered in my ear, "I really missed you, Kenny baby."

Lies. It was all lies, and again, I wasn't buying it. I was so deep into my thoughts that I didn't even feel Jo unbuckle my belt and pull it out of the loops of my jeans. She pushed my jeans down to my knees, not even bothering to take them off all the way. She gripped onto the waistband of my boxers and was about to yank it down until I stopped her.

"I'm sorry," I told her, "but I just can't do this." I pushed her off of me and pulled my pants back up. I got up from the couch and picked up my belt from the pile of clothes. As I was putting my belt back in the loops of my jeans, Jo was still sitting down in only her pink bra and black booty shorts, staring at me in disbelief.

"Okay, what the fuck is up with you?" she snapped, "You're not acting like yourself tonight."

"I'm just not in the mood tonight," I told her honestly. She scoffed as I pulled my shirt over my head. "Look, why can't we go without sex for one night and just talk to each other?"

Jo glared at me. "You and I both know that I didn't call you over to just 'talk'," she said, making air quotes with her fingers.

"Well, maybe it's time for a change," I told her, "Whenever I hang out with Krys, she doesn't try to get in my pants like you do. She actually wants to have a conversation with me."

She stood up and shoved me, hardly making me stumble. That's when I knew she was officially pissed off. "Don't you ever fucking compare me to that slut. What the hell is she even good for, besides being a little bitch all the time?"

Now Jo was starting to piss _me_ off a lot, more than the fact that she sleeps around with other guys. "Don't talk about her that way," I growled, getting in her face, "You don't know anything about her."

"Oh, and you do?" she snapped, "Since you're so good of friends with her, why don't you tell me a little something about this 'Krys' that you just so happened to be all over for the past two weeks?"

I was silent. There was no way in hell I was gonna Jo about her personal life. She didn't need to know that Krys's parents died in a car accident, she goes through depression, and that she is an incredibly gifted performer. It's not like any of those things would've mattered to her.

"That's exactly what I thought," Jo growled, "And I bet that she doesn't know anything about you, unlike I do!"

"You think you really know me, Jo?" I yelled at her, "Did you know that I'm in the school's jazz band, I play guitar, and music is my life? I bet you don't even know my middle name!"

"That doesn't matter, Kendall!" she yelled back, "I've known you longer than she has! We've known each other since the fuckin' sixth grade!"

"And yet you still know nothing about me!" I pinched the bridge of my nose and shook my head. I was starting to get really frustrated and annoyed right now. "I don't even know why I'm having this conversation with you," I said, "You're not even my girlfriend. And right now, I'm ecstatic that we're not together."

Jo just continued to glare at me with her arms crossed. I knew that she couldn't think of anything to say. What could she say to change anything? I didn't wanna be in a relationship with her and I for sure knew that she didn't wanna be in a relationship with me. All she wanted from me was a good fuck. And now, I'm not sure that's what I wanted anymore.

"You know what?" I said, grabbing my jacket and keys, "I'm done with this. I'm outta here."

"And where are you going, Kendall?" she spat.

"I'm going home," I snapped back, "I don't need this anymore. I'm not dealing with you anymore. Don't bother to call me for any more hook-ups, because I am done. If you need someone, go call you're little boyfriends from Avalanche." I walked to the door and opened it. Before I walked out, I turned to Jo one more time and said, "By the way, my middle name is Donald. Kendall Donald motherfuckin' Knight." I walked out of the house and slammed the door shut behind me.

It took me about a half an hour to get home, which honestly felt more like an hour. I don't think I've ever been so furious in my life. How dare Jo say anything about Krys? Like I said before, she didn't know her like I did. I found it crazy how from one week, Krys and I go from absolutely hating each other to becoming the closest of friends. I admit I'm a bit nervous for her to face Jo when we get back to school on Monday, but she's a strong and tough girl. If anything does happen though, she has Alice, Logan, and even James and Carlos that have her back no matter what. Most importantly, she has me.

I pulled up into my driveway and noticed that my mom's SUV wasn't there. She must have another night shift tonight. Sighing, I got out of the car and walked to the door. Surprisingly, it was unlocked, so I'm guessing Katie was home. I walked inside, tossed my keys on the counter, and headed up to my room. When I stepped foot into my room, I couldn't believe what was right in front of me.

Katie's eyes were bigger than usual as she stared in shock at was in her hand: my gun.

"Kendall…" she whispered, eyes glued to the object.

"Katie, what the hell are you doing in my room?" I asked her.

"I ran out of paper for my homework so I came in here to look for some," she answered, "And when I looked in your desk drawer, I found this…"

I walked over to my little sister and snatched the gun out of her hand. "Next time you need something from me, ask me first," I snarled, "Don't come barging in my room and looking through my stuff."

"Does Mom know that you have that?" she asked me, her shaky finger pointing at my gun.

"That doesn't matter," I snapped, "I don't ever wanna see you holding, touching, or even looking at this again. If I catch you doing any of those things, you'll regret it, I promise you that. Got it?"

Katie's bottom lip quivered as she nodded her head. I felt bad, I really did. I just don't ever wanna see my baby sister getting caught up into a gang like me. I'm doing this to protect the people I love, including her. She doesn't need that kind of lifestyle because she's a good kid. She deserves a lot better.

"Good," I said. I sighed as I wrapped my sister in for a hug. "You know I'm doing this for your own good, right? I don't ever want you to get hurt."

I felt her nodded her head into the crook of my neck. I pulled away and Katie wiped the tears away from her face with the back of her hand.

"It's getting late," I told her, "You should get ready for bed." I kissed the top of her head and said, "I love you, baby sister."

"Love you, too, big brother," she said softly before walking to her room.

I closed my door after she left. It was a pretty overwhelming day so I decided to just call it a night. I stripped out of my clothes down to my boxers. Before turning off my light, I dialed a number on my phone. As it rang, I settled into bed and waited for a response.

"_Hello?"_ the melodic voice answered.

"Krys?" I said softly.

"_Yeah?"_ she answered with a voice as soft as mine was.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you up?"

"_Yeah,"_ she responded, _"but it's okay. What's up?"_

"Can you do me a favor really fast?"

"_Of course,"_ she answered, _"What do you need me to do?"_

I hesitated a bit before answering, "Will you please sing to me?"

It was silent. But after a few seconds, she said, _"Okay. Is there anything specific you want me to sing for you?"_

"No," I told her, "Just sing me a few bars of a song of your choice."

"_Okay."_ She cleared her throat before starting her song, which automatically blew me away.

_A place to crash, I got you  
No need to ask, I got you  
Just get on the phone, I got you  
Come and pick you up if I have to_

_What's weird about it is we're right at the end_  
_I'm mad about it, just figured it out in my head_  
_I'm proud to say I got you_

_Go ahead and say goodbye, I'll be alright_  
_Go ahead and make me cry, I'll be alright_  
_And when you need a place to run to_  
_For better, for worse I got you, I got you_

Her voice never fails to make me smile. It felt like all of the pressure in me just melted away because of her. She's powerful, let me tell you that.

"Thank you, Krys," I said to her.

"_Anytime."_ She was quiet before she asked, _"Is everything alright?"_

"Yeah," I assured her, "I was just having a bit of trouble sleeping."

"_Oh, okay,"_ she said, _"Well I hope that helped you. I'll see at school on Monday. Sweet dreams, Kendall Knight."_

"Sweet dreams, Krys Everrest."

After we hung up, I started feeling more and more tired. I set my phone on top of my nightstand and buried my head into my pillow. That night I realized how special Krys was to me. I now know that it was now my priority to protect her from anything dangerous, whether it was either Jo's bitchy comments or anything involved in my gang. Especially Hunter Geraldo, the leader of my rival gang, 'Black Smoke'. We've been clashing for years and Hunter will do anything to harm the ones I love, which is why I have to make sure he knows nothing about Krys. Deciding that I had enough on my plate, I shut my eyes for the night and dreamed of the girl that's stuck in both my head and heart.

* * *

**Hi guys! Well I hoped you liked this chapter. This was more of a filler chapter, since I don't wanna be so quick with the story yet. Sorry if it's not good, but once again, writer's block is a bitch and it was hard to come up with something. I just wanted to give you guys something since you've been waiting for a while. But I hope you like it all in all. I have a couple of announcements for you.  
**

**I'm thinking about aborting Can't Let You Go and Love Never Fails. I know I don't really have much, but I'm already losing motivation. So if you haven't read them yet, please do and let me know what you think, because it would really suck if I had to cancel another story.**

**Also, I'm thinking about making a one shot series for Big Time Rush. If you look on my profile, there's more information and an application to apply your OC. I think it'll be a fun idea and I can't wait to see what you guys come up with!  
**

**I'm so excited! A week from today I'm going to see Big Time Rush with my best friend! *does happy dance* I'm so pumped! Alright, I'm gonna shut up now. Until next time, WHOO HOO! xoxo, Maddie :D  
**


	6. The Fighter

**I'm a terrible person for not updating sooner, I know. I'm so sorry! Band camp was kicking my ass and my junior year starts tomorrow and I barely had time to write. But I'm back and I'm ready to start updating again. So without further ado, here's chapter 6! xoxo, Maddie**

* * *

***Kendall's POV***

I checked myself in the mirror of the boy's locker room to see if I looked decent enough before heading outside with my friends. I changed out of my P.E. clothes back into my black V-neck, grey skinny jeans, black sweatshirt, and white and black checkered Vans. I put my silver snakebites back on, since I usually take them off before I go outside for P.E. Right after I shook out my hair a little, I placed my black beanie on top of my head.

I figured I looked fine so I walked out of the locker room and caught up with James, Logan, and Carlos. I usually would've waited for Krys but she told me that she had to talk to Coach Donovan about something and she told me that she would just meet up with me later. The guys and I walked over to the cafeteria for lunch. We were so into our conversation that I didn't notice someone in front of me and I bumped into them, knocking my lunch all over the floor and making a mess.

Turns out that the guy I bumped into was Nick Montgomery, some beefy football player who was the son of a cop that usually gets the guys and me into trouble. It was obvious that we didn't like each other at all. Why the fuck would I ever be friends with a guy like him? We have absolutely nothing in common with each other and that's how it would always be. I could honestly care less; I didn't need to be surrounded by fake people every day, thinking that I'm above everyone else. That's just not me.

"Hey!" I growled, making him and the rest of the idiots he hangs out with turn to face me, "Why don't you watch where the fuck you're going next time?"

Nick gave me the stupidest smug smile and shrugged his shoulders. "Now you know to move out of the way whenever I walk by instead of just standing there like an idiot."

Who the fuck did this guy think he was? "Excuse me?"

He chuckled humorlessly as he made his way towards me and my friends. "Did I stutter?" he asked rhetorically, "I said, maybe next time, you'll know how to move out of the way when I walk by."

"I don't know who you think you are," James spoke up, stating exactly what was on my mind, "but unless you wanna keep that so-called 'pretty face of yours, you better just walk the fuck away." I bet if Logan and Carlos weren't holding him back, he would've clocked Nick in the face, which I actually kind of wanted to see. Who doesn't love a good knockout, right?

"When you're done getting your friend under control," Nick sneered, "why don't you just walk away and go shoot up some coke or whatever it is you lowlifes do."

He tried to shove my shoulder but I quickly smacked his hand away before it even touched me. "Don't you _ever _try to lay your hand on me again or I swear to god I will-"

"What?" Nick challenged, "What are you gonna do? You can't touch me or use your gun or knife or whatever it is you use on me without getting busted. In case you've forgotten, _Knight_, my dad's a cop and he can arrest your ass just like that." He snapped his fingers to make his point more clear. "So if you even threaten to hurt me, I can just call up both my dad and my mom, since she's a lawyer, and make sure your worthless ass gets thrown in jail."

"You're fucking bluffing," I snorted, "And you seriously need your mommy and daddy to fight your battles for you? You're a big boy so you should be handling your problems by yourself."

"Kendall, let's just leave," Logan tried to convince me, "He's not worth it, trust me."

"Yeah, man," Carlos agreed, "You don't wanna get the law involved."

But I just ignored them. I was keeping my ground and not even my best friends could drag me away without a fight. To be honest, I didn't wanna get physical. Although I was starting to lose my cool a bit, I just took deep breaths and thought about things that helped me calm down, like Krys.

This is where things started to turn for the worst. With an angry glare on his face, he crossed his arms and slowly walked towards me. Let me tell you guys that Nick isn't some skinny lanky guy. This guy was freakin' huge! He had to be at least 220 pounds and could easily break someone's bones just by one squeeze. He was about six feet and two inches tall so he was a bit taller than me. Even though he was bigger than me, I was in no way shape or form afraid of him. I've been in fights with guys a lot bigger than Nick and was usually able to take them down so this was nothing for me.

"At least I have people who care about me," he snarled, "I have everything I need in life: money, a badass car, and a football scholarship to USC. What do you have? Oh that's right, nothing. You barely have any money, you fail pretty much every class, and you have friends that are just as pathetic as you are. You're the most worthless piece of shit I've ever met in my life."

"You better watch it, man," I growled through my teeth. My fists were clenched so tight that they were becoming whiter than usual. James, Logan, and Carlos were trying to hold me back and so far, it was barely working.

"God, what are you even gonna do with your life?" Nick continued, starting to sound like one of my teachers, "I predict that you're gonna be dead before you reach thirty, just like your father, who was even more worthless than you."

That did it.

I forced my friends' hands off me and punched Nick right in the jaw hard. He collapsed onto the dirty cafeteria floor as he held on to his jaw. I didn't give him time to regain his focus and I pounced on him. We started just punching and kicking each other on the floor, not really paying attention to our friends that were trying to separate us from each other. I also noticed that our peers were taking a break from eating their lunch to watch the little fight going on in the middle of the cafeteria. Some of them even started chanting, "Fight! Fight! Fight!" which was getting kind of annoying, but I was just focusing on what I was doing.

I know I said that I didn't really wanna fight, but I couldn't hold it in anymore. All it took was one stupid remark about my family to make me break loose. Listen, I could take jabs towards myself, but if someone was talking shit about my family or friends, there would be hell to pay. There was no way that anyone was going to get away with that without a beating, especially when it came from a guy like Nick. I just hoped that Krys wasn't in the cafeteria witnessing this, because the last thing I needed was for her to see this and worry about me.

Sometime during the fight, which lasted for about a good two minutes, I felt a pair of strong hands pry me off of Nick, who now had a bleeding nose and a busted lip. He probably looked worse than I did; the only thing that really hurt was my right eye. I looked up and saw the guy that ran the entire school, the man that you did not wanna mess with to save your life.

"Principal Jacobs," I said flatly with an unenthusiastic expression on my face.

"In my office," he ordered with a glare, "NOW!"

* * *

"Does anyone want to explain to me why you three boys are here?" Jacobs asked James, Logan, and Carlos.

Right now I am sitting in Jacobs's office next to Nick, who was pressing an icepack against his jaw. I was holding my own icepack on my eye, which I could feel throbbing by the second. James, Logan, and Carlos were leaning up against the wall behind me, even though it wasn't really necessary for them to be here. Sitting across from us was none other than Principal Jacobs himself with his hands linked together on his desk and a scowl written on his face.

"Kendall's our brother," James answered, "and brothers stick together no matter what." Logan and Carlos nodded their heads, agreeing with him. Man, do I love those guys!

Jacobs opened his mouth to say something to them, but decided against it and just shook his head. He turned back to Nick and I. "Do you boys want to tell me how this whole fight started?"

"Well," Nick started. I snorted, making him turn to glare at me. I could already tell that he was gonna come up with some bullshit lie to save his sorry ass. He turned back to Jacobs and continued, "I was with my friends, buying lunch and minding my own business, when all of a sudden, Kendall over here shoves me out of nowhere and made me drop my food. I politely asked him to leave me alone but then he just punched me in the jaw. I had to defend myself so I hit him back."

I let out another snort, a bit louder than the last one. Everyone in the room turned to look at me, most likely wondering what I thought was so funny.

"I'm sorry but I'll be damned if you actually believe this shit," I told Jacobs, "That is not what happened at all. What really happened was that we bumped into each other. I told him to watch where he was going and then he started insulting my family, friends, and me. It might not be that big of a deal to you, Principal Jacobs, but I will fight for my friends and family no matter what the consequences are."

"It's true, Jacobs- I mean Principal Jacobs," Carlos spoke up, "We saw the whole thing happen."

Nick scoffed in disbelief. "Oh, come on!" he exclaimed, "Who are you gonna believe? The captain of the football team or some gangbanger?" He winced at the pain his jaw was in and continued to press the ice against it. "Ow."

James chuckled. "Wimp."

"If you have something to say, Diamond," Nick sneered, "say it to my face. I won't even hesitate to give you a black eye like your friend over here."

James opened his arms out. "Bring it, Montgomery!"

"This isn't about you right now, James!" Logan scolded said boy, pushing him back a bit, "This is about Kendall!"

"Well, I say he deserves another ass-kicking for being such a-"

"Enough!"

We all turned to Jacobs, who took off his glasses and was now rubbing his forehead. I could tell that he was getting frustrated and annoyed with us and I didn't really blame him. Actually, I thought it was pretty funny and I was trying hard not to laugh at James's eagerness to kick Nick's ass. I had to get it together though.

"So, boys," he said to Nick and me, "I think it's best if-"

Right then, the door to his office opened and Mr. Gokey walked in the room. "Principal Jacobs," he said, "I need to talk to you about using the auditorium for the winter concert…" He looked at Nick and me, probably shocked to see us all bruised and bloodied up. "What's going on? And what happened to your eye, Kendall?"

"Nick insulted Kendall's family so they got into a fight," Logan summed up.

"I'm guessing Kendall won?" Mr. Gokey said quietly, but loud enough for me to hear. I stifled a laugh, not wanting Jacobs to hear me. I swear, Mr. Gokey is the best teacher ever.

"We don't know," Carlos whispered back, "Jacobs broke them up before we could tell."

"Mr. Gokey, Mr. Garcia," Jacobs scolded them, "If you don't mind, I'm in the middle of something here."

"Sorry," Carlos and Mr. Gokey said in unison.

Jacobs let out a huge sigh before turning back to Nick and me. "As for you boys' punishment," he said, "Nick, you have to serve a detention after school today. And Kendall…" I waited for him to tell me what my punishment was, but he wouldn't say anything. It confused me; what horrible thing do I have to do for my punishment? For some reason, I had a funny feeling that it was gonna be either better or worse than Nick's.

"Kendall, I think it's best if you don't come to school for the rest of the week."

What. The. Fuck? Is he serious? "You're suspending me?" I yelled, causing everyone to flinch, "_He's_ the one who started it, not _me_! This is bullshit! Why am I the one who's being suspended?"

"Principal Jacobs," Mr. Gokey stepped up, "From one adult to another, that seems a bit unfair. Can't you just give him a detention like Nick?"

"I'm sorry, Danny," Jacobs said, "but my mind's made up. This isn't Kendall's first fight and I know what he's like outside of school and Sherwood High doesn't need that right now. It'll be safer for him and the school if he just stays home for a few days."

Wait, what? Safer for the school? It started to sink in…

"You're suspending me because of something that I do outside of school?" I asked in disbelief. The tension in the air was so thick, you needed an axe to cut it. Everyone was afraid to speak up, which was really starting to piss me off. I slammed my hands down on Jacobs's desk. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"I'm not taking any risks, Kendall," Jacobs said to me, "I'm sorry but I have no choice. And it's not like I'm expelling you. Consider this me lending you a few days off of school so you can collect yourself together. My mind's made up. Pack up your stuff and go home. I have more important things to do than deal with this right now."

I looked to my friends and Mr. Gokey for some help, but they didn't say a word. What could they have done anyways? They were lower than Jacobs and there wasn't anything they could say or do to change his mind.

I just couldn't believe that I was really getting suspended for who I am. It was so unfair! Did they really think that I chose to be the person I am? Well, I didn't. I never wanted to join a gang, but I had no choice. My father was in the gang before I was and because of his death, it was my job to follow his footsteps, no matter what horrible things I had to do. Now, I'm the one getting in trouble for it. And I thought teachers or whatever were supposed to lead students towards a better life, not punish them because they were afraid of looking bad. Whoever said that adults were your friends was the biggest liar ever.

"Whatever," I grumbled, throwing down my icepack and grabbing my backpack off the floor, "Fuck this, I don't need this shit. I'm outta here."

I stormed out of the office, ignoring my friends' and Mr. Gokey's calls. Never in my life have I been so angry over something like this. It was offensive and sickening to me how people thought they knew me when they really didn't. Whatever. I made my way to the entrance of the school as fast as I could. I didn't want to be in a place where I wasn't wanted.

***Krys's POV***

I grabbed my sheet music for jazz band out of my locker and put it inside my purse. Talking to Coach Donovan about getting new P.E. clothes took a lot longer than I thought it would, and I ended up missing lunch. I was disappointed that I couldn't hang out with Kendall, but I texted him that I was sorry I couldn't make it. He never texted me, which was weird because he always answered me back. Was everything okay? Should I be worried? I tried not to stress about it as I smoothed out my outfit, which consisted of a gray sweater, ripped skinny jeans, grey Converse, white and silver I Heart Boobies bracelet, and my music note necklace.

All of a sudden, I heard the sound of shoes stomping down the hallway. I could tell right away that whoever that person was, they sounded very angry. I turned to my right to see a furious Kendall heading towards the entrance of the school. His jaw was tightened and his hands were curled up into fists, looking ready to punch the life out of someone. He looked kinda scary; I wonder what happened to make him so mad. I've never seen him like this before, so it must've been something serious.

I called after him, but he just ignored me and continued to walk, or stomp, towards the entrance. I shut my locker and ran after him. When I caught up with him, I grabbed his hand and stood in front of him. He stood there with his head looking down and eyes avoiding mine.

"Kendall, are you okay?" I asked, worry evident in my voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he assured me, still avoiding my face.

When I looked closer, I saw that his right eye was all bruised up. It looked like it hurt like a bitch.

"Oh my god," I gasped. I cupped his face with my hand and moved it so I could get a better look at his eye. He kept the same cold look on his face and continued to look at the floor. "What happened to your eye?"

"Nothing," he lied as he turned his head away from me. He shook his head and mumbled, "I just gotta get outta here." He pushed past me and continued making his way out of the school.

"Kendall…"

"Just leave me alone," he told me right before leaving the building.

This was not gonna stop haunting me until I knew what was wrong with him. Kendall's my friend and I wanted to help him with whatever was hurting him. Being the concerned person I was, I chased after him out of the school. I gotta give him credit; the guy was a very fast walker, especially when he was angry. I ran as fast as I could, which was a lot faster than I should be running in my condition. My breathing was growing heavier and faster and I knew that I should stop to take a break, but I just kept running. Right now, I knew that Kendall needed me more, even though he would never admit it.

After five minutes of searching, I had finally found Kendall climbing into his truck in the student parking lot. By the time I had reached him, I was having a bit of trouble breathing. I took my inhaler out of my purse, puffed some air into my lungs, and put it back in. I turned to Kendall, who was gripping onto the steering wheel tightly and glaring at me.

"Krys, what the hell are you doing?" he growled, "Go back to class."

"What is going on with you, Kendall?" I asked him, ignoring his demand, "Why are you so upset?"

"Krys, I couldn't be any more serious right now," he warned me, "Go back inside now!"

"No," I refused, "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what happened in there that made you so mad."

"It doesn't concern you!"

"Well it does now!"

"Krys-"

I gripped onto one of his hands that was on the steering wheel and looked him dead in his emerald green eyes. "God dammit, Kendall! Why can't you just let me in? I know you're not used to sharing your feelings with anyone, but I promised you that I was gonna be there for you no matter what. Well, this is me keeping that promise."

He looked down at our now interlocked hands and sighed deeply. I knew that I had stumped him big time just now. Why couldn't he understand that he can't just keep things bottled up inside? He had to talk about his feelings with someone, and I wanted him to trust me. I've only known Kendall for a few weeks, but for some reason, we now played a big part in each other's lives. I trusted him, a gang leader that scared the living shit out of me more than anything, so what was it going to take for him to trust me?

"Get in," he finally said to me.

I was taken back a bit at his request. "What?"

"You heard me," he retorted, "If you wanna find out what's wrong with me so bad, get in the car. But I don't want you yelling at me and getting mad for doing this."

I looked into his beautiful eyes and saw that he was dead serious right now and I didn't want to make things worse. Hesitantly, I let go of Kendall's hand and stepped in the car on the passenger's side. I set my purse down at my feet and shut the car door. After I buckled myself in, I turned to Kendall to see what he was gonna do next.

"You better hold on tight," he warned me as he started up the car.

Before I could ask him why, he slammed his foot down and booked it out of the parking lot. I immediately started to panic at the speed and grabbed onto the door handle. He was going so fast and the turns he made were so harsh that I wasn't surprised that a cop didn't pull him over. I looked back at him and saw the exact same facial expression I saw the day I had first met him. There was no doubt that he was pissed beyond belief. Damn, what the hell happened to make him so furious? I just hoped he knew what he was doing right now because I was freaking out on the inside.

We were on an unfamiliar road, surrounded by tons of pine trees and rocks. The road had turned from smooth to bumpy, which started to make me feel a bit sick to my stomach. I didn't know where Kendall was going but I hoped that he would stop soon because this was not fitting well with me at all.

All of a sudden, he harshly and swiftly pulled over to the side of the road, making me jolt forward in my seat at the sudden stop. At this point, my knuckles had turned white from gripping onto the handle and my breathing had grown short. I pulled back out my inhaler and puffed in the air. Kendall stepped out of the car, slammed his door shut, and walked into the forest of trees. I quickly got out of the car, threw my inhaler on top of my purse, and followed ten feet behind the dirty blonde.

As I trailed along the forest behind Kendall, I took the time to appreciate the area I was in. I always had a fascination for nature, and the many trees surrounding me were absolutely breathtaking. They were larger than life and were colored with a beautiful shade of green. However, I didn't really appreciate the rocks that I kept tripping over. I cursed under my breath as I slipped on another pebble. Finally, Kendall stopped at a lake that I was guessing no one really knew about. It was littered with many leaves and a few ducks and fish. I wondered how Kendall knew about this place, but I had to ask him at a different time.

Kendall's back was facing towards me as he looked out at the lake. We were about ten feet away from each other and as much as I wanted to get closer to him, I knew I had to keep my distance for now. He had taken off his beanie and ran his hands through his hair too many times, frustrated with whatever had happened back at the school. The silence was killing me and I had to know what was wrong.

"Kendall?" I said softly, "Can you please talk to me?"

He took a deep breath and turned to face me. He tossed his beanie next to a boulder and ran his hands through his dirty blonde hair one last time. "I'm a fuck-up."

I scrunched up my face in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"It's true," he told me, "It's like I can't do anything right. While you were talking to Coach Donovan, Nick Montgomery kept pointing out that I was a pathetic lowlife that has nothing going for him in the future. He said that my dad was more worthless than I was, so I punched him in the face and it turned into a huge brawl, which is how I got the black eye. Nick only got away with a detention while I'm suspended for the rest of the week because fuckin' Principal Jacobs thinks that the school would be a safer place if I wasn't there for a few days."

How fuckin' stupid. Principal Jacobs couldn't make Kendall leave school for a few days because of what he does outside. That's just so unfair!

"Kendall, don't listen to what Nick or Principal Jacobs tell you," I told him, "You're not a lowlife and you know it."

"Yes I am, Krys," he disagreed, "Yes I am. I'm a gang leader that has a low budget job, I pretty much have no more money, and to top it off, I'm failing most of my classes. I don't have a plan for after high school. I don't know what's gonna happen after I graduate- scratch that. I don't even know if I'm gonna be able to graduate at this point. It fuckin' sucks!" He kicked the nearest tree hard, causing leaves to float down onto the grass and dirt. I knew that had to hurt, but it wasn't evident on his face.

"You know what happened the other night?" Kendall continued, "My sister found my gun in my room. I don't think I've ever seen her so scared in my life. She's probably even too scared to be around me now. I don't want Katie to get the wrong idea and get involved in a gang, drink, or do drugs. That's not the life I want for her. I want her to get a good education, go to college, and live a happy life. She deserves that, unlike me."

"My life wasn't supposed to turn out like this. My dad wanted me to live a better life than he did. Instead, he was killed right in front of me and I had to fill in his shoes. I had to become the man of the house and provide for my mother and sister, even if it meant selling drugs. Besides working at a market, this is my job. This is something I can't get out of so easily. I'll always be the guy that everyone is afraid of and will never be able to have the chance to go to college, get a stable job, marry, and have kids. I don't deserve it. I'm a terrible person. No matter what, I'm stuck like this and there's nothing I can't do about it. I'm a fuck-up and I always will be." He sat down on the boulder and buried his face in his hands, angry and hurt.

It took everything in me to not cry right now. I was just as angry as he was. He was so wrong about himself, and it killed me to see him think so lowly. Kendall didn't deserve this; he deserved the happy life that his dad had wanted for him. It was now my job to make him see that.

I walked over and sat down on the boulder next to him. I took his face in my hands and turned his head so he was looking at me. His eyes were so hypnotizing and I almost lost my focus, but I had to pull it together for him.

"You are not a fuck-up, Kendall," I told him, "You are so far from it, it's not even funny. No one has the right to judge you so harshly like that. You don't deserve it. I don't think I've ever met anyone that loved their family and friends so much that they would go to the extremes to make sure that they are safe and taken care of. Yeah, you do things that are dangerous and pretty much life-threatening, but you do it out of good intentions. Plus, your passion for music is absolutely incredible. You're a very gifted musician and you should never let it go. I hope you continue to play guitar for the rest of your life because you're just so good at it."

"Even though you live your life differently than everyone else, I think you're the sweetest, most caring and passionate guy I've ever met. Don't ever think you're no good for anything because you're worth so much more than what anyone thinks." I pushed his bangs back and stared deep into his eyes. "Just know that I believe in you, and I know that everything is gonna turn out for the best. You just gotta trust me."

Kendall gripped onto my wrists and interlocked his fingers with mine. "I do trust you, Krys. I trust you more than anyone." He chuckled as he stared into my eyes, making me wonder what was funny. "Why are you so nice to me out of anyone in the world? Why me?"

I chuckled also as I looked down at our intertwined hands. "I don't know what it is, but when I first saw you, you automatically stole my attention. Like you said before, we need each other in our lives. That means I'm sticking with you through thick and thin, and nothing's gonna change that. I'll always have your back. I just pray that have mine, too."

That's when I saw something I never thought I would see: a genuine smile forming on Kendall's face. Knowing that I was the one that got him to do that absolutely made my day. I hoped that I would get to see that beautiful smile more often.

"I'll always have your back, Krys," he assured me, "Thank you for everything." A comfortable silence grew between us for a bit as we continued to sit on that boulder. He tucked a strand of my dark auburn hair behind my ear and was still smiling that dimpled smile at me. "Um, since it would be pointless for me to take you back to the school right now, can we just stay here for a bit longer? I just wanna be alone with you."

I smiled back and answered, "Of course we can."

We scooted closer to each other and I laid my head on his shoulder. I felt him tense up for a moment, but that went away quickly and I felt him lay his head on top of mine. I loved this right now with just me and Kendall. For a couple of hours, all of our worries, stress, and problems washed away as our hands remained together and we gazed at the scene of the forest. I smiled to myself… me and Kendall. Yeah, I loved the sound of that…

* * *

**Sorry if it's not that great, but I just wanted give something to you guys! Pretty pretty please with a cherry on top review and let me know what you think! Also if you haven't, please check out my other stories, Dance Is Better With U, Only Hope, and Love Never Fails. I promise I'll get back on updating quicker! Until next time, rock on and WHOO HOO! xoxo, Maddie :)  
**


	7. Complicated

**Wow! Has it really been over a month since I last updated this story? I can't even put into words how sorry I am! I've been so stressed out with band that I've been losing my concentration. I really wanna get on with this story so I can start working on the sequels. I already have them figured out and I just need to finish this one. But after over a month of waiting, here's chapter 7!**

* * *

***Krys's POV***

Kendall and I have sat on that boulder for two hours, just listening to the nature around us and not saying a word to each other. It was really peaceful with just the two of us. We haven't talked for a while, but there was no need to; we just enjoyed each other's company. The scenery was so soothing that I think I even fell asleep on Kendall's shoulder for a bit. I hoped he didn't mind though, even though I'm pretty sure he, too, fell asleep when he rested his head on top of mine.

Some time, I woke up, but kept my eyes closed, when I felt Kendall shifting a bit. "Shit," I heard him grumble to himself.

My eyes fluttered open as I gazed up at the tall blonde next to me, who was checking his phone. "Everything alright?" I ask him.

"Uh, yeah," he answered me, continuing to stare at the device in his hands, "I just didn't realize that we've been here for so long. School got out like an hour ago."

With wide eyes, I pulled out my phone to see thirteen missed calls from Tyce. Dammit! I meant to call him to tell him that I didn't need him to pick me up. He's probably annoyed at me right now. I quickly dialed his number and waited a few seconds for it to ring. It rang not even halfway through once before he answered.

"Okay, Tyce, don't get mad-" I tell him calmly before he interrupted me.

"Krys, where the hell are you?" he asked me, "I've been waiting for you at your school for forty-seven minutes and I tried calling you like a hundred times! Why haven't you been picking up your phone?"

A grimace formed on my face. Yep, he was pissed.

"I'm sorry," I tried apologizing, "I meant to call you but I forgot. I'm with Kendall right now and I guess I lost track of time."

I could just picture my brother's face right now, which was probably confused as hell. "What are you doing with Kendall?" he asked, "Wait. You guys aren't doing anything like… you know…"

"No, no! Nothing like that, I promise!" I quickly said. Man, I could feel my cheeks burning right now! How embarrassing! Thank god that Kendall couldn't hear the other side of the conversation. Speaking of the blonde, he raised an eyebrow at my sudden outburst. I assured him that it was nothing and went back to talking to my brother.

"You better not be," Tyce warned me.

"Tyce!"

"Well, I'm your brother," he said to me, "I have to know these things." After a few seconds of silence, he asked me, "So when are you coming home?"

"I don't know yet," I answered, "but I promise I'll text you and let you know."

"Okay, make sure you do," he said, "I'll see you later. Be safe with him."

I rolled my eyes. I swear, I don't think I've ever met anyone that was so protective over me. It was both sweet and annoying. But, hey, he's my brother. "I will, I promise. I'll see you later. Bye."

"Bye."

After I hung up with my Tyce, I turned to Kendall and my jaw automatically went slack. The air had been chilly lately, but for some reason, the sun decided to shine directly on the spot that Kendall and I were. Beads of sweat were forming on the gang leader's forehead, so he lifted the bottom of his shirt and wiped it off, leaving me quite a good view of some of his torso. Even though he didn't necessarily have a six-pack, he did have muscle and noticeable abs, which were enough to make me swoon. I had never really been a fan of six-packs anyways; they just looked a bit unreal and photo-shopped. But Kendall, on the other hand… he was definitely a looker.

"Krys, did you hear me?"

My head snapped up and I looked at Kendall. Shit! I think he caught me staring. I didn't even realize I was doing it! God, what a nightmare! Hopefully, he didn't notice it because if he did, I wouldn't hear the end of it.

"Sorry," I apologized, "Uh, what were you saying?"

Unfazed by the situation, he continued, "I was saying that I should probably take you home right now." Although it was sweet of Kendall to drive me home, a part of me wanted to spend more time with him. It was already starting to get dark out, so staying here longer was out of the question. Then I suddenly thought of something.

"Actually," I said, "You don't have to take me home right away." Kendall looked a bit confused, but I just continued. "I was thinking, maybe, that we could just hang out at say, I don't know, your house?"

He raised one of his dark and bushy eyebrows. "You wanna come over to my house?"

I rubbed the back of my neck. "Yeah…" I answered a bit sheepishly, "Is that too weird?"

He shook his head. "Not really. It's just that no girl has ever wanted to come over to my house before. They've always told me to go to theirs."

"Well, consider this a first for the both of us then," I smirked.

Kendall smirked back at me, making my heart pound against my chest. He nodded his head towards the way we walked over here, telling me that we should head out. He led the way back out of the forest to his truck, which was a bit trickier than the walk before. Because the hills were steep, it was hard to walk up them. As I tried to keep my balance, my foot caught on a branch and caused me to yelp as I tumbled over. I expect to collide with the dirt and rocks until a pair of strong arms wrap around my waist. I looked up and saw Kendall's emerald eyes looking down at me with a small smile on his face.

"You're alright," he assured me, "I got you."

God, what is this boy doing to me? My heart feels like it's going into overdrive with just a simple smile. And the way his eyes sparkled whenever he played his beloved guitar, talked about his friends and family, and sometimes, even when he looked at me… it was almost too much. I didn't know why I keep getting these butterflies or why I feel like I'm about to melt at his touch. He must be some kind of wizard because he definitely had me under his spell. Truth be told, I didn't mind at all.

When he stood me up, he took my hand and helped me up the hill. He continued to hold on to me until we reached his truck. We both got into the vehicle and I became slightly disappointed when his hand departed from mine. He put the car into gear and started to drive.

The ride lasted for only fifteen minutes until we reached… I guess you could say the 'bad side' of Sherwood. The walls were littered with graffiti, garbage was scattered on the streets, and the horrific smell of pot filled the air. I turned my head and saw some burly thug staring at me. I didn't like the way he was looking at me and I immediately grabbed onto Kendall's bicep. He gave the guy a death stare and he walked away after a few seconds. Wow. If even that guy was scared of Kendall, the blonde must be a real badass.

Finally, we had reach Kendall's neighborhood. I wasn't a bit surprised when I saw his house. For a two story house, it seemed pretty small. Not that I'm complaining though. After he parked the car, we got out and walked up to the front door. He unlocked it and moved out of the way to let me in. I immediately fell in love with his home. They're belongings weren't expensive, but that's okay. It looked like they had everything they needed and it felt very relaxing and comfy.

"Yeah, I know it's not much," Kendall said behind me, "but it's… well, it's just not much."

I turned to him and gave him a smile. "I like it. I really do. It's very homey."

That brought a relieved smile to his face. "I'm glad you like it. Come with me and I'll show you my room." He led me up the stairs and into his bedroom.

The walls were painted dark green, which set off the tone for the room. They were covered with posters of different musicians. Right next to the door was his closet that was filled with clothes, mostly flannels. I chuckled to myself; the boy sure did love his plaid. On one side of the room was his dresser, topped with a small TV. Across from the dresser was a king sized bed with a thick black comforter and a white pillow. Next to it was a nightstand with a lamp and an alarm clock radio on top. This room definitely matched Kendall: mysterious yet comforting.

"Nice room you got here," I smirked at him.

"You're being sarcastic, aren't you?" he chuckled.

I shook my head. "No, I mean it," I assured him, "It's totally you and I like that."

He grinned at me, showing off his incredible dimples. I walked over to his bed and saw the most beautiful acoustic guitar ever. When I looked closer at the mahogany instrument, two small K's were carved at the bottom.

"That was my very first guitar," Kendall told me as he sat on his bed, "My dad gave it to me for my birthday when I was younger and I never put it down ever since. I swear that man loved music more than I do. He was an awesome guy."

"I bet he was," I smiled back. I looked at the posters plastered on his wall. Most of the artists on there were ones that I've never heard of. They were mostly heavy metal bands and rappers, stuff that I don't usually listen to. Then I saw one band that brought a huge smile on my face.

"You're an Incubus fan?"

He nodded his head. "They're my favorite band. Do you like them?"

"Are you kidding me?" I scoffed, "I love them! They're the best!" An idea popped into my head when I glanced back down on the guitar. "Do you know how to play any of their songs?"

"Yeah, I pretty much know them all," he answered, "Why?"

As carefully as I could, I picked the guitar up by its neck and held it out to Kendall. "Play me something."

He was looking at the guitar hesitantly, debating on whether to follow through with my request. After thinking for a few moments, he took his guitar out of my hand and sat down crisscrossed on his bed. I sat across from him and leaned against his headboard.

He looked at me as he tuned his instrument. "What's your favorite Incubus song?"

I didn't even have to think about it as I smirked and answered, "It's 'Drive'."

Kendall nodded as he settled his guitar on his lap. He took a deep breath before he started strumming the first notes of the song. I brought up my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around them as I listened to this breathtaking blonde boy sing my favorite song.

* * *

***Kendall's POV***

_Sometimes, I feel the fear of uncertainty stinging clear  
And I can't help but ask myself how much I'll let the fear  
Take the wheel and steer_

_It's driven me before and seems to have a vague_  
_Haunting mass appeal_  
_But lately I'm beginning to find that I_  
_Should be the one behind the wheel_

_Whatever tomorrow brings_  
_I'll be there with open arms and open eyes yea_  
_Whatever tomorrow brings_  
_I'll be there I'll be there_

_So, if I decide to waiver my chance_  
_To be one of the hive_  
_Will I choose water over wine_  
_And hold my own and drive?_  
_Aah ah ooo_

_It's driven me before and it seems to be the way_  
_That everyone else gets around_  
_But lately I'm beginning to find that when_  
_I drive myself my light is found_

_Whatever tomorrow brings_  
_I'll be there with open arms and open eyes yea_  
_Whatever tomorrow brings_  
_I'll be there I'll be there_

_Would you choose water over wine?_  
_Hold the wheel and drive_

_Whatever tomorrow brings_  
_I'll be there with open arms and open eyes yea_  
_Whatever tomorrow brings_  
_I'll be there I'll be there_

I looked up at Krys as I strummed the last notes to the song. She didn't say anything; she was just staring at me like I had something disgusting on my face. Her grey-blue eyes were wide and her lips were slightly parted.

"Are you just gonna keep staring at me or…" I said, a bit annoyed with the silence.

Her eyes blinked a few times before saying to me, "Kendall… that was… amazing. You can really sing."

"Thanks, I guess," I said as I set my guitar right by my bed.

"Seriously, Kendall," she said, "You have no idea how much talent you have. You can sing and play guitar really well. Those are two things that shouldn't go to waste. Please tell me you're gonna major in music in college."

I just turned my head away from her and rubbed the back of my neck. She gasped in astonishment. I didn't have to say anything for her to know what my answer was.

"Kendall Donald Knight," she demanded, "why the hell aren't you gonna major in music?"

"Uhh…" I answered sheepishly, "I wasn't actually… planning on going to college."

College was never something that I was too concerned about, to be honest. It was something that I didn't think was even an option for me. For one, I didn't have the grades to get into college. I have at least a C or D average in my classes except P.E. and jazz band, which isn't good enough. Also, college costs a shit ton of money and the amount of money I actually have isn't gonna cut it.

My mom started saving up money for me to go to college ever since I was a baby. It was a big deal to her that I got the education and experience that her and my dad never had. Everything was looking bright for me until the night my dad was shot. The man that killed him broke into our house and took everything we had. To pay for the damages he had caused and our belongings that he took, my mom had no choice but to take the money saved up from my and Katie's college funds. My mom tried to start up a new college fund for me but I refused, telling her that there was no hope for me anymore. I made sure that she was saving up money for Katie though, because she needed the opportunity for college more than I did.

A slight but noticeable frown formed on Krys's face. It was obvious that she wasn't too happy with my decision, but that's the way it has to be. College may be the perfect place for her, but for me, it's just a stupid and pointless dream that will never become a reality. At least not right now.

"Well," Krys continued, "Let's say that you _were_ planning on going to college. Where would you wanna go?"

I shrugged my shoulders because I really didn't know where I would want to go. Krys walked over to her bag that was lying at the foot of my bed and pulled out a brochure. She handed it to me and I read what was on the front.

"What's Musicians Institute?" I asked her as I continued to read through the brochure.

"It's a music school in California," she explained to me, "You can study guitar, piano, drums, vocals, audio engineering, the list just goes on. They'll also help you create your own demos and record your own music. It's in Hollywood so you get to be around the whole entertainment scene."

This sounded like my kind of school. Wow, I never thought I would say that. This was definitely interesting.

"Is this where you're applying at?" I asked.

She nodded her head. "I'm sending out my application in a couple of weeks. I think it would be really cool if someone I knew applied with me so that I wouldn't be alone…" She looked up at me with hopeful and pleading eyes.

I sighed and slightly shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know, Krys."

"Why not? You're an incredible musician and this is such a good opportunity for you!" She came up to me and grabbed my hand. She smiled up at me and her beautiful and unique eyes sparkled. "Please? For me?"

As tempting as she was at the moment, I was still hesitant about college. Would I fit in? Hell, I didn't know if it was even possible for me to get in.

"What if I say no?" I challenged the shorter girl.

The corner of her mouth turned up in a sly smirk. Without any warning, she grabbed my beanie off of my head and threw it down on the ground. Her hands came up and started messing up my hair. I tried to escape from her grasp, but she held her own. Finally, I was able to duck away from her hands and started to tickle her sides. Krys started giggling uncontrollably, occasionally letting out little squeaks. I then picked up the pale girl by her legs and draped her over my shoulder.

"Kendall, put me down!" she squealed as she pounded her fists on my back.

"If you say so."

I dropped her on my bed and she shrieked in surprise. I continued to tickle her sides as I straddled her waist. She tried to get out from under me but it was impossible for her to because of my weight on top of her. Also, one of my hands was pinning both of hers above her head. Krys continued her laughing spree, even though she kept yelling at me to stop, but I just kept going.

"Okay, okay!" she cried out, "I call truce! Now stop it!"

After a few minutes, I finally gave in. I took my hand away from her side, but I was still straddling her and her hands were still pinned.

"Are you gonna stop trying to attack me?" I smirked down at her.

"Yes, I promise I'll stop," she laughed, "Now will you please get off of me?"

I didn't answer her question right away. Instead, I took this time to take a real good look at the girl lying down underneath me.

Krys was still giggling, but it had toned down a bit. Her big and bright smile was still plastered on her face, making her look goofy yet extremely happy. Her skin was pale, but her cheeks now had a red tone to them. Her long, dark auburn hair was messy and some of it was covering her face due to her thrashing her head while I was tickling her. Either way, it still looked flawless. The feature that made me my weakest was her small but noticeable, sparkling, grey-blue eyes. Seeing those eyes made my school days worthwhile. Krys was absolutely stunning. Even saying that she was beautiful was an understatement. She was drop dead gorgeous.

She finally noticed that I had been staring at her for a while and her laughter had died down. She was looking back up at me, almost seeming like as if she was waiting for me to do something. I didn't know what she was thinking or how she was feeling, but I was feeling confused. A few weeks ago, I despised her. I thought she was the most obnoxious and nagging girl I'd ever met. I did everything I could to get away from her and not get involved with her. Now here we are, bodies pressed together on my bed and smiling and staring at each other. There was some kind of desire in her eyes, driving me insane. I would have never gone for a girl like her before, but now, I was starting to think that that was what I needed.

I pushed her dark auburn hair away from her face, giving me a much better view of her beauty. Her pink and full lips were slightly parted. For a moment, I imagined how good it must feel to have those lips pressed against mine. Before I knew it, my head was bending down towards hers. I heard her breath hitch as my lips inched closer to hers. Our lips would've touched if it wasn't for the sound of a twelve year old girl clearing her throat.

"Ahem."

We both turned our heads to see Katie leaning against the door frame with her arms crossed. She didn't look too amused with the position Krys and I were in.

"What's going on in here?" my little sister asked nonchalantly.

"Nothing," I answered a bit too quickly.

Krys lightly pushed me off her so she could stand up from the bed. She smoothed out her outfit and hair as she headed over to Katie. "You must be Kendall's little sister. It's nice to meet you, Katie. I'm Krys." She stuck out her hand for Katie to shake, which she didn't. Krys didn't really seem fazed by it, though.

"Yeah, I know who you are," Katie told her, "Kendall talks about you a lot."

"Does he now?" Krys chuckled, obviously amused. I, on the other hand, was starting to turn red.

"Okay, Katie," I said, "That's enough now."

She shrugged before saying, "I'm just telling her the truth."

"Katie, what are you doing?" I heard my mom call out, "I thought I told you to go get Kendall…" She appeared at the doorway and looked at Krys. A smile grew on her face. "And who's this?"

"I'm Krys, Kendall's friend from school," the grey-blue eyed girl said as she shook my mom's hand. "You must be his mother."

My mom smiled back. "I am. And it's nice to finally meet you. Kendall's been telling me so much about you."

Krys turned to me and smirked. "So I've been told." I just bowed my head down and rubbed the back of my neck as I heard her giggle at my embarrassment.

"So, Krys," my mom said, "are you going to be staying over for dinner? I brought Chinese take-out."

"Um…" the grey-blue eyed girl hummed, probably not expecting my mom to invite her to stay, "I'd love to. You know, if Kendall doesn't mind."

"No!" I said. I realized I had said that a bit quicker than it should've been. I cleared my throat before I spoke again. "I meant, no, I don't mind at all. You can stay over." Krys smiled at me, telling me that she was pleased with my answer.

It also seemed to make my mom happy that I was finally bringing a decent girl home instead of Jo, who my mom has never liked. "Great," she beamed, "I'll start setting up the table."

After she went downstairs, Krys turned to me once again and smirked. "Are you sure you don't mind me staying over for a bit longer?"

For one of the first times in my life, I was speechless. Krys somehow inched closer to me and was now standing only a couple inches from me. The very short distance between us made it a bit difficult for me to control my breathing, especially when she was staring up at me innocently with her hypnotizing eyes. I mentally slapped myself. Get it together, Kendall!

"I'm sure," I said to her, keeping my cool persona.

"Good," she said, "because I could really go for an eggroll right now." With a smile, she patted my chest and headed downstairs. I chuckled to myself before following Krys to the kitchen. When we got there, Katie was already sitting at the table, playing her PSP while my mom was setting up the table. "Here, Mrs. Knight," Krys said as she headed over to my mom and grabbed some of the plates that she was struggling to balance, "Let me help you."

My mom looked a bit taken back but mostly grateful. "Why, thank you, Krys. It's nice to have someone around here who offers to help you." She glared at Katie and me, who just turned away and started whistling.

Krys giggled before saying, "It's no problem at all. It's the least I can do since you invited me to stay."

After my mom and Krys had finished setting up the table, we all sat down. I was at one end, my mom was sitting at the other end, Katie was on my left, and Krys was on my right. I grabbed some orange chicken as my mom and Krys started to engage in conversation.

"So, Krys," my mom said, "Kendall told me that you moved here from Arizona. Do you like Minnesota so far?"

"Yeah, I do," Krys answered, "I'm still trying to get used to the cold weather though but other than that, I really like it here. It's different."

"Isn't Arizona supposed to be warm?" Katie interjected, "Because no offense, but you're a lot more pale than I thought Arizona girls should be." I kicked her shin under the table. "Ow!"

"Katie! Watch it!" I scolded her.

"I said 'no offense'!" she defended herself.

Instead of getting offended, Krys just laughed. "It's okay, Katie. I get that a lot. Since it's always so hot there, I pretty much put sunscreen on every day. Now I look like Kristen Stewart in 'Twilight'."

That seemed to make Katie laugh, which was weird because she never smiles around any of my friends. She's known James, Logan, and Carlos as long as I have, and to this day she fucking hates James. It's actually hilarious if you put them two in a room together because they're always arguing with each other and she hits him constantly.

"And you're the new singer in the jazz ensemble?" my mom continued.

"I am," Krys replied, "I was working on a song one day at school and Kendall heard me. He pretty much insisted me to be the new jazz singer. I'm not gonna lie, I was pretty hesitant about it because I haven't sung since my parents passed, but now, I'm really glad I'm doing it. And it's all thanks to Kendall over here." She patted my hand and gave me a smile that left me breathless.

"Well, Katie and I will be sure to get front row seats to your first performance," my mom beamed.

"That sounds great," I said as I continued to smile at Krys. She blushed a bit before looking down at her food and continued to eat.

We continued to eat our dinner for another twenty minutes. My mom was washing the dishes (after refusing to let our guest help her) while Katie and Krys were in the living room, bonding over the fact that they're the youngest ones in their family. I was sitting on the kitchen counter, watching the two girls talk. It still amazed me that Krys magically got Katie to not only talk to her, but to actually like her. Katie never adapts to someone as quickly as an hour. I don't know what it is about Krys; she just has that irresistible charm to her.

"I like her."

My mom's words snapped me out of my thoughts and made me turned to face her. "Huh?"

"Krys," she said as she continued to do the dishes, "I like her. She's a very nice girl."

"Yeah," I responded, "She's cool."

"Do you like her?"

What kind of question was that? "Of course I do," I answered her, "She's my friend."

"No, no. I meant do you like her as… more than a friend?"

That question really got me thinking. Did I like Krys like that? I don't know what it was, but something about that girl has really opened my eyes today. To me, she wasn't the same pain in the ass I had met on her first day here. How did all of that change? Maybe it was the way she was able to charm my mom and sister into liking her. Maybe it was her calm and soothing voice she used whenever she tried to convince me that I actually meant something in this world. Maybe it was the fact that she was simply not like every other girl I had met in my entire life.

"I don't know," I answered my mom, "It's complicated."

"I don't believe that," she argued, "What is it about her that makes it complicated?"

_Everything,_ I wanted to say. Everything about us was complicated. I didn't even know if she liked me like that. Yeah, she was sweet to me, but she might only feel just pity for me, which I certainly didn't need. When I almost kissed her on my bed earlier, who knew if she wanted to kiss me back? Even if she did like me, it wouldn't last long. We were just too different; she's too good for me. Unlike me, she has a purpose in this world. As for me, I was bad news. I was too unhealthy to be in a stabilized relationship, especially with a girl like Krys. She deserved better when I for one didn't.

Instead of giving my mom a straight-up answer, I just shrugged my shoulders. She sighed at my lack of response.

"Whatever you do, Kendall," she warned me, "do not ruin things with Krys. That girl seems much too valuable to let go. I don't want you to do something stupid and regret it later. Do you understand?"

Reluctantly, I nodded my head. "I'll try…" I said softly.

"Kendall?" I turned my head and saw Krys standing there with her bag slung over her shoulder, "I'm ready to go." I grabbed my keys as she said goodbye to my mom and Katie.

"Feel free to come over whenever you like, Krys," my mom said as she gave her a hug.

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind," she smiled back.

After she said her goodbyes, we headed out of the house and into my truck. On our way to her house, things were once again silent. It was almost too silent for my liking. What I really wanted to talk about was our 'almost-kiss', but Krys spoke up before I could.

"I really liked your family," she told me, "They're really nice."

"That's good," I said to her, "They seemed to really like you, too. I don't think Katie's ever warmed up to anyone so quickly ever since our dad died."

"Well, I'm glad I could break that cycle," she smiled before looking out the window.

The 'almost-kiss' was starting to haunt me, and I was just dying to let it out. I didn't wanna come off too strong though; I didn't wanna scare her away. Man, listen to me. My mission at first was to freak her out so she wouldn't want anything to do with me. Now, I have to do everything I can to not lose her.

Oh my god, she was making me soft. Fuck!

"This is it," she said, pointing to a big light blue house. It was a pretty sweet house. It was for sure more than what I could ever give to her, which killed me inside.

I parked on the curb and Krys got out of the car. Before she headed to the front of her house, she walked over to my side of the truck. She reached into her bag and pulled out the Musicians Institute brochure. She gave me a hopeful look as she held it out towards me.

"Krys, I-"

"Kendall, just take it," she said, "The least you can do is think about it. Please? For me?"

God damn her eyes! With one look, that girl had me under her spell. I had no choice but to take the brochure out of her hands. That seemed to make her happy though.

"Thank you," she said softly. She grasped onto my hand and gave it a small squeeze. "I'll see you tomorrow, Kendall."

She gave me one more squeeze and she walked up to her front porch. Before she walked inside, she gave me a small wave. She then went inside and shut her door. I lolled my head back and let out a big exasperated sigh. I took another good look at the brochure in my hand before tossing it onto the passenger and driving back home. I swear, overthinking will be the absolute death of me…

* * *

**Well, there it is. Sorry if it isn't that great. It's more of a filler. But the next chapter will be ****important **to the story. You'll get more of a background of Alice, which is actually **relevant **for the series. But all in all, I really hope you guys like this one. Please leave your reviews and let me know what you think! Also, I'm still planning on doing the series of oneshots to help keep my creative juices flowing so please fill out the application for your OC that's on my profile so I can create something for you! Until next time, rock on and WHOO HOO! xoxo, Maddie :)  



	8. The Way You Make Me Feel

**Hey, guys! Sorry it's been a while since I last updated. These past few weeks have been so stressful and hectic for me and my family, but here I am!  
**

**Are you guys still liking this story? Because I haven't been getting many reviews on it and it's making me lose my confidence. I want to thank GothBlue for being so loyal to me and my stories! And don't worry, I haven't forgot about your oneshot! I'm gonna try to get it done ASAP!  
**

**But seriously guys, please review! I'd love to see some from new people (and of course the people that usually do review :P). It let's me know that people are still liking this! So, without further ado, here's chapter 8!  
**

* * *

***Kendall's POV***

On a typical Friday night in Sherwood, you would find people my age either partying or getting pretty fucked up or attending our high school's varsity football games. Whoever even goes to those games is seriously wasting their time; I don't think our team has won a single game since, I don't know, maybe 2006. I'm doing them a favor by not wasting my time and money and not showing up, so I'm giving them one less person to get their asses kicked in front of.

Also, even though high school parties seem like my type of thing, seeing the so-called popular guys getting high and performing stupid-ass stunts just to make themselves appear even more cooler in front of their 'friends'- we have Carlos for that. This may come as a huge shocker to others, but nothing grosses me out more than seeing girls getting fucking wasted and whoring themselves around different guys. Then they sleep with them and get upset that the guys never call them back. I've been that guy many times so I know what I'm talking about.

But that's not even the point.

The point is is that while other teens are 'YOLO'-ing up (God, I really hate that term. 'YOLO'. Psh. Who the hell was drunk enough to come up with that?), I actually have to work for a living at the Sherwood market. I had to earn my money somehow. Well, other than at my… 'night' job.

I was in the cereal aisle, stocking up the shelves. As I was putting a box of Frosted Flakes on the shelves, I heard someone as if they were struggling. I turned and saw and saw a small and elderly woman reaching up to grab a box of oatmeal but she couldn't get it. Normally, I would've just turned away and continued to do my job, but this teeny tiny voice in the back of my head was telling me to do the right thing and help the woman out. Stupid voice. I finally gave in and made my way towards her.

"Can I help you, ma'am?" I asked her.

She looked up at me and gave me a smile. "I was trying to grab that box of apple-cinnamon oatmeal, but I can't quite reach it. Would you mind…"

"Say no more," I answered, returning the smile. I reached up and grabbed the box of Quaker's Apple-Cinnamon Oatmeal. I handed the box to her. "Here you go."

"Why, thank you very much, young man," she beamed as she put the box in the basket she was carrying.

"No problem. If you need any more help, just let me know."

"I'll be sure to do that. Thank you again…" She squinted her eyes to get a better look at my nametag. "Kendall."

I gave her a small nod and after she walked away, I went back to stocking the cereal on the shelves. I check my watch to see what the time was. 7:32. I had only twenty-eight minutes left until I get off of work and get the hell outta here. Time couldn't go any more slowly. I was ready to just leave and go hang out with my boys, but I had other obligations… now, only twenty-seven more minutes.

I finally finished stocking up the shelves and now I had to gather up all of the stranded shopping carts and put them back in front of the store. It's a more annoying job than you think it is. Why couldn't people just put the damn cart back where they got them from? Anyways, I put one of the carts I found back in front of the store when the elderly woman from earlier walked out. She was carrying three heavy-looking bags in her arms and I could tell she was having a hard time with them. Losing her grip, two of the bags fell onto the ground and out spilled various foods like yogurt, tea, vegetables, and that same apple-cinnamon I helped her get.

"Oh, darn it!" she grumbled to herself as she struggled to pick the food back up.

That was my cue to run over to her and start grabbing her groceries up from the floor. "I got it," I assured her.

"Thank you so much," she said to me, "I don't think I would've been able to pick those up without you."

I chuckled. "It's no problem at all, Mrs.…"

"Wilson," she added, "Mrs. Beverly Wilson."

"Mrs. Wilson. I have it all taken care of." I put the last of the groceries into the bags. I picked them up and stood up, towering over the fragile woman. "Which one's your car? I help you put your groceries in it."

She pointed over to the right side of the parking lot. "Over there. It's that maroon Volkswagen in the corner."

Together, we headed over to said vehicle. She dug her keys out of her purse and popped the trunk open. Inside were a sewing kit, a few blankets, and some pieces of random fabric. It smelled like lavender laundry detergent, which wasn't very abnormal coming from and seventy-something year old woman's car. But it was sort of comforting. I moved the soft blankets over to the side to make room and set down the bags. After I shut the trunk door, I turned to Mrs. Wilson, who pulled out her wallet and fished out a twenty dollar bill.

"Here you go," she said as she handed the money to me.

I shook my head as I looked down at the dollar bill in my hands. Feeling wrong for some reason, I handed the money back to her. "Mrs. Wilson, I'm not gonna take your money. It's really not necessary."

"Kendall, I insist," she argued, "You've been really helpful to me today. If anyone deserves this money, it's you. Just take it." She grabbed my hand, uncurled my fingers, placed the money back in my hands, and then closed my hand back up.

I looked at the elderly woman in awe. "Thank you, Mrs. Wilson. It really means a lot."

"No, no. Thank _you_." She gave me a genuine smile and lightly patted my cheek. "You're a good kid, Kendall." She opened her car door and stepped inside. After she settled in her Volkswagen, she started up her engine and drove away.

I looked back down at the money. I was still in shock that someone was willing to just hand me money without having to ask for it. For once, I was glad that I was able to earn it the right way instead of forcing someone or making a deal. So this is what it feels like to do something nice for someone you don't know. I chuckled to myself as I stuffed the money into the pocket of my jeans. I can already see the proud smile on Krys's face once I tell her about this.

A gust of wind flew past me, sending chills down my whole body. I rubbed my ice cold hands together and blew some warm air into them. Yep, December has definitely made its arrival in Sherwood. It's crazy how freezing Minnesota could be this time of year. It's like if you stay outside long enough, you just might actually freeze to death. At least the view's nice to look at. Thin, white blankets of snow covered the grass, trees, and even some cement; it wasn't too deep though. I immediately remembered the lake I took Krys to a few days ago. It always looked breathtaking this time of year and I couldn't wait to take her over there one day. I knew for sure she would love it.

"Knight."

I turned around and saw my middle-aged boss and manager of Sherwood Market heading over towards me. He was holding a white envelope in his hand.

"Mr. Harper."

He handed the envelope to me. "Here's your paycheck from the past few weeks. Denise called in yesterday and said that she needs to take the next month off of work so she could spend her honeymoon with her new husband in Fiji."

I raised an eyebrow. "Who the hell spends their honeymoon in Fiji for a whole month? Let alone in December?"

"Not the point," Mr. Harper raised his hand, "The point is is that I need some employees to start taking extra shifts here for the next few weeks, including you. I was thinking that you could come in next Friday from 4:30 to 9:30 PM. Do you think you could do that?"

I grimaced as I took my paycheck. "I was actually gonna talk to about that. I need to request that day off; I have my winter concert that night. Sorry."

Mr. Harper sighed as he ran a hand through his withered grey hair. "Fine," he said as if he were a bit annoyed, "But don't plan on staying out too late that night because I want you here at 8:30 the next morning. Got it?"

"Got it."

"Good." He checked his watch. "You're free to go now."

I cheered silently as I took off the apron wrapped around my waist and tossed it to my boss. "See you next week, Mr. Harper!" I called over my shoulder as I ran to my truck. Once I got in, I dug my keys out of my pocket and stuck them in the ignition. The truck revved and I quickly drove out of the parking lot and made my way to Logan's house.

I had finally reached my best friend's house after a few short minutes. I parked my car and honked my horn very slowly. I continued to do so until Logan finally came out of the house. He gave me a look that said 'what the hell' and stuck up his middle finger at me, making me chuckle. He tossed his backpack in the bed of my truck and got in the passenger seat.

"Really?" he said as he shut his door, "Were all of those honks really necessary, jackass?"

"You were taking too long," I replied, shrugging my shoulders and starting the engine back up.

"I wasn't even taking that long," he mumbled to himself.

We were now on our way to pick up James and Carlos, who were both at James's house. Logan and I were in the middle of making plans for the night when all of a sudden, 'Love Hurts' by Incubus started playing on the radio.

Logan groaned. "God, they suck!" He reached over to change stations and I slapped his hand away. "Ow!" he yelped as he pulled his hand away and started to rub it.

"Don't you _dare_ touch my radio unless you wanna lose a hand," I warned him, "No one _ever_ changes an Incubus song."

"Seriously, who the hell likes Incubus?" he scoffed.

I shook my head. Did the idiot really just ask who likes Incubus? "Um, I do, thank you very much," I answered, "And it just so happens that Krys likes them, too."

He scoffed again. "Of course she does." He slouched in his seat (which was no problem since he wasn't wearing his seat belt. Go figure.) and put both of his feet up on the dashboard.

"Hey, feet off!" I demanded, "I just cleaned her yesterday!"

Logan rolled his eyes. "Damn, I can't do anything in this car!" As he put his feet down, he accidently kicked open the glove compartment and everything in there fell out and landed at his feet.

"God job, dumbass," I said sarcastically, "Now pick it up."

My friend started picking up all of the various items like old paychecks, gum wrappers, empty cigarette boxes, and CDs and put them back in the glove compartment. He scrunched up his face in confusion when he came across the Musicians Institute brochure Krys had given to me.

Wait, what? He wasn't supposed to find that! No one was. No one knew that I was even considering that place and I was hoping to keep it that way. James, Logan, and Carlos didn't even know I was even interested in music, let alone jazz band. We always picked on the marching band kids on a daily basis. I mean, come on! Who the hell would wanna stomp around the football field while playing the cheesiest piece of music? That didn't sound like fun to me.

"What the hell is this?" Logan asked me as he started to look through the brochure.

"Um…" That was the only thing I could say right now. If Logan found out that I was a sort of band geek, I would never hear the end of it. Then again, if I don't tell him, he would most likely interrogate me for the rest of my life. I let out a huge sigh. Well, here goes nothing. "It's a brochure for a music school in California."

"Music school?" he questioned, "I didn't know you were into that kind of stuff."

"Yeah, after my dad died, I inherited all of his guitars and just picked it up easily. And, I… uhh… I've even been in the school's jazz band since freshman year." I said that last part a bit hesitantly because I was afraid of what his reaction would be.

He chuckled a bit. "Yeah, I remember that your dad was really big on music. He was really good at it, too. And I think it's pretty cool that you're in jazz band."

I raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yeah, man. If it's something you like doing, then I don't see the reason to not pursue it." He closed up the brochure. "So, are you actually gonna apply to this school?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I'm not sure yet. Krys really wants me to but I don't know…"

"Of course she does," Logan chuckled, tossing the brochure on the dashboard.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Dude, it's so obvious." What was obvious? I shot him a questioning look and he rolled his eyes. "Krys likes you. You can tell by the way she acts around you. She just seems… comfortable. I bet she wants you to go to California with her so she can get even more close to you."

I only thought she was nice to me because she felt bad for me. When I now think about it, I sometimes catch her glancing over at me and she always blushes big time whenever I give her compliments, which I do more than I probably should. I don't wanna make things too obvious. She's the only girl I know that is actually interested and supportive of what I wanna do in life. Did she like me? Or is it just pity?

"Do you think she actually likes me?" I asked Logan.

"Hell yeah," he answers, "I mean, she's never flat out said anything about it, but I can tell." Things got a little bit silent after that. After a few minutes, he asks me, "You like Krys, don't you?"

A few days ago, that question has been haunting me. If he asked me then, I wouldn't have an answer. But then I actually thought about it, and now I know for sure. I tried to keep an emotionless face as I focused on the road, but I was starting to fail miserably. The corner of my mouth turned up into a smirk and Logan chuckled.

"I knew it!" he exclaimed, "I knew you liked her! That's great, Kendall. Now all you need to do is ask her out and everything will be good."

As much as the idea thrilled me, I knew it was impossible. There were still many complications. "I don't know, Logan. It's not as easy as it seems."

"And why the hell not?" he asked.

We had finally reached James's house. I parked my truck at the curb and then I turned to my best friend. "One, we're just way too different. Two, I don't wanna risk her safety when it comes to my gang life, especially Hunter's involved. And three, I'm pretty sure her brother doesn't even like me, even though I've never met him before. It just won't work out."

"I'm sorry, but that is just bullshit," Logan scoffed, "If Krys likes you so much, she wouldn't care about any of that stuff. If she was scared of you and your personal life, we wouldn't even be having this conversation right now."

"True…" I said quietly.

"And so what if her brother doesn't like you?" he continued, "Big deal. Alice's parents hate me, and yet I still hang out with her all the time. We just don't care."

"It's different with you two," I argued, "You aren't even together so it doesn't even matter."

The atmosphere changed when I said that for some reason. "Right," Logan sighed, looking down at his fumbling fingers, "We're not even together."

I was confused. Did I say something wrong? I never thought that Logan and Alice would like each other that way. They've been best friends forever; they're practically like brother and sister. Logan himself told me that he never has and never will think about her like that. Then why does he look so solemn right now? I don't get it.

I was about to ask him about it when I heard a huge thump coming from the back of my truck. James and Carlos started banging their hands on the top of my car and started whooping. I rolled down my window and poked my head out to glare at the two dumbasses.

"What the hell, guys?" I yelled at them, "Are you two fucking stupid?"

"Hey, we've been waiting for you guys to pick us up for forty-five minutes!" James argued, "So if anyone should be pissed, it should be us!"

"Can we go now?" Carlos whined, "I'm fucking starving and I could really go for a burger right now!"

I rolled my eyes. "Fine," I said as I settled into my seat, "Just sit down and shut up."

They started whooping again and I shook my head. Dumbasses. With two wild animals in the back of my truck and a depressed looking Logan next to me, I started up the engine and drove off to do whatever the night leads us.

* * *

***Krys's POV***

"Here you ladies go," the woman behind the concession stand said as she handed Alice and me our hot chocolates, "Enjoy the rest of the game."

"Thanks, you too," I smiled back before walking away with my friend.

Alice and I walked back to our seats in the bleachers. Tonight was the last varsity football game of the year and she invited me to go with her. Since she was ASB president, she kinda didn't have a choice but to go. I didn't mind being here though; I went my school's football games all the time back in Arizona, so was I to turn down a good game? Little did I know that the varsity team, well, kinda sucked. Right now, the score was 3-31, and we were at the third quarter. It was just bad.

"So, Alice," I said as we sat down, "thanks for bringing me to the game tonight. I haven't been to one since last year."

"Are you kidding me?" she said back, "I should be thanking _you_. I would've been so bored if you weren't here. Hell, I wouldn't even be here if I wasn't ASB president. This is the first game I've been to all year."

I laughed before taking a sip of my hot chocolate. It was awful! They put way too much water in there and I could hardly taste the chocolate. My face was a dead giveaway of how bad it was so Alice took both of our cups and threw them in the trash bin.

"I told you that they had the worst hot chocolate," Alice reminded me.

"I know, I should've listened to you," I joked, giggling with her.

Forgetting about our horrible drinks, we continued to watch the gruesome game. Before I go on, let me tell you that apparently when it comes to sports, Alice can be very… loud. She gets so into it that she even starts yelling at the players if they make a bad move. For example, Nick Montgomery almost scored a touchdown when he got tackled badly by one of the players from Duluth.

"Oh, come on!" Alice yelled as she stood up from her seat, "What the hell was _that_, Montgomery? I swear, you're the worst quarterback ever! Your ass should've been put back in junior varsity!"

To be honest, I found the whole thing quite hysterical. But she causing a bit of a scene, so I tried to calm her down. "Um, Alice?" I said, "I don't think he can hear you."

"I know he can't!" she said to me, "But that still doesn't give him an excuse to suck at football."

"Dude, just relax," I chuckled, "Do you wanna just leave? The third quarter's almost over and with this score, I don't think they're gonna win."

"Fine," she sighed as she grabbed her purse, "Let's get outta here."

We headed down the bleachers and made our way towards the exit of the stadium. We were almost out until I accidently bumped into Jo out of all people and her army of skanks. Once she noticed it was me, she sneered.

"Seriously, Everrest?" she questioned as she looked up and down at me, "You think you would've learned from the first time. God, you're so pathetic."

"Well, it's nice to see you too, _Joanne_," I said, using her real first name, "I never thought I would see you here at a school event. I figured it was something that was out of your comfort zone."

"Well, just like everyone else," Jo said a bit too casually, "we came to see our team lose. Plus, I'm meeting one of the guys from Duluth after so we can go over to his house."

"Of course you are," Alice mumbled to herself. I stifled my laughter, which Jo noticed.

"I'm surprised to see you here too, Krys," Jo said, "I thought you'd be with Kendall right now."

I shook my head. "He had work tonight, which I'm pretty sure you didn't know."

The blonde girl glared at me as she crossed her arms, a look I was all too familiar with. "You know that it'll never work out with you two, right? Why the hell would he ever want a girl like you? You're just way too different with each other. Now Kendall and I, on the other hand, we're much more compatible. We've known each other longer than you two have. We're part of the same gang, for crying out loud!"

"Yeah, because that's done wonders for your relationship." Right when I said that, I immediately regretted it. It just slipped out, even though it desperately needed to be said.

Jo stepped closer to me and pointed her finger in my face. "Don't you _dare_ cross me, Everrest. You just need to accept the fact that Kendall doesn't belong with you. You're too 'pure' and 'innocent' for him. He needs a girl like me that can keep up with him and his lifestyle. Besides, I'm sure he would rather go for a girl whose hair color is natural."

Then she had the nerve to touch my hair, which _is _a natural color, thank you very much. I pushed her hand away, and that was when Alice stepped in.

"Okay, that's enough," the green-eyed girl said calmly, "Come on, Krys. Let's go before this gets out of hand."

"Yeah, listen to your little friend," Stephanie sneered, "Speaking of pure and innocent, Little Miss Saint over here wouldn't wanna get in trouble with her daddy for getting into a fight."

"Hey, lay off, Stephanie," Alice said, trying to keep her cool.

"Shouldn't you be studying your bible, Farrell?" Lucy asked teasingly.

"Shouldn't you be off catching some kind of disease or something, Stone?" Alice snapped back, "You don't even know anything about me."

Camille snickered. "We don't have to know much to know how much of a prude you are. You probably haven't even lost your virginity yet, haven't you? Since it's such a sin to have sex before you're married. Well, I could care less about that. Oh, that reminds me! How can you resist not jumping Logan's bones every time you see him? I swear, that boy's way too good in bed to pass up."

That was when Alice lost it. She gave Camille a little shove, which the brunette returned. Then they started going at it like lions fighting over a zebra. It probably would've turned really nasty if I hadn't pulled Alice away and Jo, Lucy, and Stephanie pried off Camille. My best friend tried to recollect herself as I pulled her away to the parking lot.

"This isn't over, Everrest," Jo yelled at me, "so you better watch your back!"

I shook my head as Alice and I made our way to her Cadillac. I turned to her and placed my hands on her shoulder.

"Are you okay?" I asked her. She nodded her head, even though I wasn't too convinced. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," she tried to assure me, "I'll be fine. Can we just leave?"

I nodded my head and then we both got in her car. It was only a fifteen minute drive, but the uncomfortable silence made the ride seem ten times longer. Alice face looked calm, but she was gripping the steering wheel so hard that her knuckles were turning ghostly white. What Camille said really pissed her off. Why was Alice so sensitive about Logan sleeping with someone else? I'm pretty sure Camille isn't the first and only girl Logan has had sex with before, so why did she freak out? Either way, I hated seeing my best friend so upset.

We had finally reached a white two story house, which looked pretty nice. I could already tell that Alice's family had a lot of money. She parked her car in the garage and I grabbed my bag as we got out. The car beeped twice as Alice locked it. We walked inside her house and it was just as nice as the outside.

"Grammy?" Alice called out, "I'm home!"

"In the kitchen, sweetheart!"

I followed Alice into the kitchen to see a sixty year old woman with short dark brown hair with hints of grey peeking out and green eyes cooking something on the stove. Sitting at the dining table was a sixteen year old boy who also had short dark brown hair and green eyes playing on his phone. Alice tossed her keys on the counter and walked over to the elderly woman.

"Hi, Grammy," Alice greeted her grandma, kissing her cheek.

"Hi, sweetheart," she smiled back, "How was the football game?"

"Oh, you know," Alice said, shrugging her shoulders, "it was… pretty bad."

Her grandma chuckled. "I figured. You're school's football team was never really that great." She looked over at me. "Who's your friend, Alice?"

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Alice motioned over to me, "Grammy, this is my friend, Krys. Krys, this is my grandma."

I shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you, Mrs…." My sentence drifted off, since I was unsure how to address her.

"It's Mrs. Jenkins," she chuckled, "Alice's mother is my daughter. But you can call me Linda." She pointed over to the boy at the dining table. "That's Alice's younger brother, Carter." She kicked his chair, making him jump in his seat. "Carter, say hello to our guest."

Carter looked up at me and his green eyes grew wide. "Whoa, hot girl in the house!" Alice smacked him in the back of the head. "Ow!" he yelped as he rubbed it.

"Well, you should know to never talk to a lady like that," Alice warned him. I just giggled and shook her brother's hand as she turned to Linda. "Where are my mom and dad?"

"There was a last minute meeting at the church tonight."

"Of course," Alice mumbled as she searched through her refrigerator. She took out two cans of Sprite and tossed me one. She looked through her cupboard and took out a bag of nacho cheese Doritos. "Krys and I are gonna be up in my room."

"Okay, sweetheart," Linda responded, "Let me know if you need anything else. Goodnight, girls."

"Goodnight," I said back, "It was nice to meet you, Linda."

As I followed Alice up the stairs, I heard Carter say, "Dream of me, baby." Then I heard a smack followed by an "Ow!"

I liked Alice's room. It wasn't too frilly and girly. The walls were painted mint green and had pictures of her friends, family, and even a couple posters of Michael Jackson on them. Her comforters were soft pink and her pillows were cream colored. Her dressers and nightstand were wooden and painted white. It seemed very comfortable and soothing.

I was in Alice's bathroom, putting my hair up in a high ponytail and brushing my teeth. I had changed out of my clothes and put on my USC t-shirt, plaid pajama shorts, and black fuzzy slippers. Alice was getting some blankets and a pillow for me so I could sleep on her floor. She had changed into a white V-neck, yoga pants, and black Ugg slippers. I rinsed out my mouth and then turned off the lights in the bathroom. I found Alice setting down a couple of soft looking comforters and a fluffy pillow at the foot of her bed.

"Are you gonna be fine with these?" she asked me, gesturing to the little 'bed' she had made for me.

"Yeah, that's perfect," I answered, "Thank you."

She gave me a small smile as she put her long black wavy hair up in a messy bun. There was huge elephant in the room that we both knew was there. Since it was just us in the room, it was time to ask about it.

"So…" I said awkwardly, "At the game tonight-"

"Krys, I am so sorry about that," she apologized, which was unnecessary, "I didn't mean to get so riled up over there. It's just that those girls were getting on my last nerve, especially when Camille said that about Logan-"

"Hey, hey," I interjected, calming her down, "It's okay. I'm not mad at you. I'm just confused on what had happened."

I sat down on the floor on my 'bed' as Alice lied down on her own, facing me. "As you noticed," she started, "Jo and them give me a lot of shit about me being a Christian. My dad's the pastor at our church, so my family's really religious. Like, super religious. When I used to be friends with them, they didn't mind that I was so involved in church. But when Jo offered me to join Burning Star and I refused, she automatically blamed my religion and started accusing me of thinking that I was way above her for going to church every Sunday and not doing drugs or drink, which is not the case at all.

"And Logan…" She let out a huge huff of air, "Man, my parent's hate Logan. Well, at least my dad does; my mom is okay with the fact that I hang out with Logan, Kendall, James, and Carlos but tries to deny it around my dad. Since my dad's a pastor and is a 'man of God', he thinks Logan is going to hell for drinking, smoking, being in a gang, having sex before he's married, yada yada yada. My dad's always telling me that Logan's no good and that I shouldn't be friends with him, but nothing's gonna stop me from being friends with Logan."

She looked down at her hands as she continued, "No one else really knows this besides Logan and my family, but I've been having a lot of health problems ever since I was a baby. I have kidney dysplasia, I've been suffering with major back problems, and I get sick more than an average person should. During middle school, I got really sick and I had to be put in the hospital for a few months. Logan stayed right by my side every minute of every day, even though I kept arguing with him that he should be in school instead of being with me." She smiled to herself, probably thinking back to that time in her life. "He told me that he wasn't stepping one foot into that school until I was walking in right next to him. And he kept his word."

Hearing Alice's story brought me a lot of hope. I never would have guessed that someone as strong as her could be suffering from something so painful every day. And the fact that Logan was there with her to get through it all shows me that no matter their appearance, there was always some kind of good in everyone.

But there was something that still kept me wondering…

"Alice?" She looked up at me, waiting for me to continue. "Why did you get so upset when Camille kept saying that she has sex with Logan?"

Her smile quickly formed into a frown. The room got silent and I was starting to feel bad for not being a bit more considerate about the question. I was about to tell her to forget it if it was something she didn't want to talk about, but she beat me to it.

"A couple of years ago, I was going through my depression stage. To this day, I've never had a boyfriend, but that didn't affect me until my sophomore year. Like everyone else, my hormones were really starting to kick in and I wanted to release some… tension. I didn't wanna pop in a DVD and all of that, so I went over to Logan's house on a Friday night. He was the only one home, thank god. He asked me what was wrong and I told him about my problem." She looked over at me uncertainly. "If I tell you something, can you promise not to tell anyone?"

I nodded my head. "Yeah, of course."

Alice took a couple of deep breaths before saying, "I figured since Logan and I were both virgins and we didn't want to be anymore, I suggested that we both should have sex with each other so we wouldn't have to worry about it anymore."

My eyes were popping out of my head at this point (of course, figuratively). I would have never thought that Alice would be so blunt about a sensitive topic as sex. Knowing that she was a Christian and her father was a pastor made it a bit more shocking. Of course, I didn't judge her. Just because I was still a virgin that doesn't mean I would give someone a hard time about it.

"So," I asked her, "what happened?"

"Logan was hesitant," she answered, "but he agreed to it. We went into his room and started making out a bit. Next thing you know, we were taking each other's clothes off and we ended up on his bed. He kept asking me if I was okay and I kept assuring him I was and not to worry about me. Then... it happened. We were no longer virgins."

"Wow," I said. That was the only thing I could say to something like that. "Did it... you know, hurt?"

"Oh, like hell," she replied bluntly, "Believe me, I don't think I've ever been in so much pain before until that. But Logan was being so sweet to me, kissing my cheek and telling me that it was okay. After a few minutes, I got over the pain. But then after that... I felt good. Like, really good. It was the most incredible feeling ever and I didn't want it to end. But of course, all good things have to. He held me in his arms that night and I fell asleep in them until the morning; his parents didn't come home until the next night." She tucked a loose strand of her black hair behind her ear. "And that was the night I fell in love with Logan Phillip Mitchell."

"You're in love with Logan?" I asked dumbfounded. She nodded her head. "Did you ever tell him?"

"I wanted to. That next Monday, I searched for Logan at school to find him making out with Camille in the hallway. I didn't expect him to fall in love with me back, but I was still heartbroken to see him act like we didn't have an incredible night together a few days before. That was the only time I've had sex with someone and Logan and I have never brought up that night again."

Oh my god. Now I can understand why Alice was so pissed. She gave her heart and virginity to someone she had trusted all her life just to have it be forgotten. If it were me, I wouldn't want to be alive; I wouldn't want to suffer a heartbreak so hurtful. To see the one you love fool around with trashy girls everyday is probably one of the most awkward and painful things to go through, but somehow Alice manages to walk the school halls everyday with her head held high and a huge smile on her face. Then again, it must suck hiding your true feelings behind a mask, dying to have someone rip it off for you and actually care.

"Alice," I said softly, "I am so sorry."

"Yeah," she said, wiping the tears that I didn't notice were rolling down her cheeks, "So am I." Again, it was silent for a few minutes until Alice started chuckling. "God, I'm such a mess. Let's not talk about that anymore." She patted my arm. "Let's talk about you and Kendall. How are things going with you two?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Nothing's really going on. We're just friends, that's all."

"Oh, come on! You like him, don't you?"

"Well, I guess-"

"Then what's the problem?"

I gave my best friend a look that said that she was crazy. "Alice, look at me. Kendall would _never_ go for a girl like me. His lifestyle is so much more extreme than mine that I don't know if I'm going to be able to keep up with it. Maybe Jo's right; maybe she does belong with him..."

"Krys, listen to me," Alice said, "You are way better than Jo. You're gorgeous, funny, sincere, talented, and have one of the biggest hearts. I'm pretty sure Kendall already knows this but he doesn't wanna admit it, you are seriously changing the boy's life. When his dad died, he completely shut down and was heading towards the path of killing himself. But ever since you started talking to him, he's been cutting back on smoking and drinking, and he's focusing more on getting a better education. The fact that he's even considering going to that music school with you is a big step towards a better life. Kendall needs you, Krys. You're his angel."

_You're his angel._ Was I really making that much of an impact on his life? It made me feel incredible knowing that I was making a huge difference in someone's life. But to know that I was actually saving that person's life... I felt unstoppable, like I could do anything.

And yes, my feelings for Kendall Knight have been growing stronger and stronger as the days fly by. When I'm with him, it's like nothing else matters. We could forget about everything around us, like his gang life and my depression from my parents' death (which he's been helping me deal with like no one else has), and just enjoy being with each other. I was no longer scared of the badass persona he kept displaying for everyone else. I was falling for the Kendall Knight only I was allowed to see, the one that showed me that he cared deeply for his friends and family and that he was willing to go for the extra mile to make sure they were taken care of. I don't know if I really was Kendall's angel, but I know he was definitely mine.

Exhaustion was taking over me and I felt a long yawn escape my mouth. "Wow, I didn't realize how tired I was," I told Alice, "I think I'm gonna call it a night."

"Yeah, me too," Alice agreed as she let out a yawn of her own. She reached over to her nightstand and turned off her lamp, making the room pitch dark. "Goodnight, Krys."

"Goodnight," I said back, "Wait, Alice?"

"Yeah?"

I smiled at her, "Thank you. I'm really thankful that you're my friend."

"Same here," she smiled back, "Thank you for actually caring about me. It's hard to find people like that these days. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

I couldn't fall asleep right away, though. Kendall was invading my brain and it was driving me insane. No matter how hard I try, I know I couldn't keep my feelings for the blonde boy to myself much longer. At this point, I didn't care if he didn't think of me that way. Hell, I didn't care if he never wanted to talk to me ever again. I just had to tell him that I was falling for him, one way or another.

* * *

**I hope you guys liked it! It was a lot longer than I thought it would be, but oh well. Sorry that the end was a bit crappy. It's two a.m. and I'm starting to lose it :P And I told you that I was going to get more into Alice's background. I was actually thinking about making a oneshot of the night Alice and Logan's first time. What do you guys think? **

**Pretty pretty PLEASE review and let me know what you think! More and new reviews will definitely help me update faster. Let me know that you guys are still into this! I promise things are gonna start picking up in the next chapter. Until then, rock on and WHOO HOO! xoxo, Maddie :)  
**


	9. Merry Christmas, Baby

**I know it's been a while that I've last updated this story, but don't kill me, please! I wanna get this story done, believe me. It's just such a hard story to write. But I'm not giving up. I'm determined to finish this story and get to the other three parts of this saga! So... here. :P**

* * *

***Kendall's POV***

_Mama may have, Papa may have  
But God bless the child that's got his own  
That's got his own  
He just worry 'bout nothin'  
Cause he's got his own_

Krys and the rest of the jazz ensemble held the last note of the song as I finished strumming the guitar. I swear, her voice never fails to amaze me. How could a human possibly sing so angelically? She doesn't even have to try hard; it just comes naturally to her, unlike that Aguilera chick.

Mr. Gokey cut us off and the song ended. He was grinning from ear to ear.

"Guys, that was awesome!" he praised, "That was probably your best run yet. I think you're definitely ready for the concert tonight."

We all cheered and high-fived each other. I looked over at Krys, who was cheering along with everyone else. She must've sensed that I was watching her and she glanced over at me. I smiled and winked at her playfully. She just giggled and shook her head, but I caught her pale cheeks turning red.

The bell rang, cutting off our fun and telling us it was time for our next class. Everyone started putting their instruments away and heading out. I was packing my guitar back in its case when Krys came up to me with her bag slung over her shoulder.

"Come on, Kendall," she said to me, "We're gonna be late."

I was about to respond to her when I heard Mr. Gokey call for me. I turned around and he motioned me over to his office.

"You go ahead without me," I told Krys, "I'll meet you there."

"Ok." She gave me a small smile as she waved her fingers. With that, she turned on her heels and walked to creative writing.

I walked over to Mr. Gokey's office where he was organizing some papers on top of his desk. He picked up a manila envelope that I wrote 'Musicians Institute Application' on and handed it to me. I opened up the envelope and pulled out a two-page letter of recommendation that Mr. Gokey had typed up for me.

"Thank you, Mr. Gokey," I said as I placed the letter back in the envelope, "You have no idea how much this means to me."

"Anything for my favorite student," he smiled. He picked up some papers and placed them in his filing cabinet. He turned back to me and leaned against his desk. "I'm proud of you, Kendall. I think this school's going to suit you very well. I can only imagine how excited your mom is."

I chuckled to myself. When I told my mom that I was applying to college, she cried on the spot. I asked her what was wrong, all she did was embrace me. After a few long and silent minutes, she said that she couldn't have been any happier for me. Even Katie said that it was about damn time that I did something. Despite my little sister's smartass comment, I'm glad that I'm slowly starting to become a better role model for her. It's also such a huge relief that I could make my mom proud, too. If only my dad was here…

"What about Krys?" Mr. Gokey asked me, "Have you told her yet?"

I shook my head. "I was gonna tell her after the concert tonight. There are some things I wanna talk to her about and I figured I could tell her then."

"I can tell that you really care about this girl, Kendall. I'm happy for you; you deserve to be happy. You're a good kid. Don't forget that." He pulled a pen out of his pocket and wrote down a hall pass for me. "Now get to class. You don't wanna be later than you already are."

"Alright. See you tonight, Mr. Gokey," I said as I swung my backpack over my shoulder and left the band room.

Like all my other classes, creative writing dragged on for what seemed like hours, even though it was only fifty-five minutes long. For me, it was shorter since I walked in late, which didn't make my teacher, Mrs. Ryder, very happy. We were supposed to write a fictional short story on any Shakespeare story we desired. As everyone else was working, I spent most of my time either texting my friends or making silly faces at Krys, who sat all the way on the other side of the room. She just shook her head, laughed, and even called me a 'dork' a couple of times. Yep, pretty productive class today.

After school, I headed outside to get to my car. The student parking lot was blocked for some reason so I had to park a couple of blocks away from the school. It was snowing so it was freezing as hell, but it was nice to look at. I pulled my hood over my head as I continued to walk to my car. When I had finally reached it, my fists were tightly balled up and my jaw clenched in anger.

Three assholes wearing jeans, black hoodies, and gorilla masks were jumping all over my car and spray painting it. They whooped and hollered as they trashed up my truck, not even noticing that I was there. Pissed as hell, I dropped my backpack in the snow and rushed over to stop them.

"Hey!" I growled out them, "Get the fuck away from my car! NOW!"

Startled at my presence and satisfied with their work, they jumped off my truck and took off. Well, not without one of them punching me in the jaw and knocking me down to the ground. The blow didn't really hurt that much, just that the guy had a ring on and it most likely left a scratch on my chin. I grabbed my backpack, stood up, and walked over to my truck to see how bad the damage was. There were tiny dents here and there, but nothing that I couldn't fix. I could also cover up the graffiti easily. I was about to get in the car when something caught my eye.

Attached to the windshield wipers was a purple Post-It note with thick black writing. I plucked it off the car and read it out loud to myself.

**I hope you enjoyed the new look my boys gave your 'baby'. ** **This was just to let you know that we're back, and this time, it's for good. Just make sure you watch your back, because this is certainly NOT the last time you'll hear from us, and that's a promise… -H.G.**

I should've figured it was Hunter when I saw the Black Smoke's colors, which were silver and dark purple. Those were probably his boys, Jett Stetson, Dak Zevon, and Wally 'Wayne Wayne' Dooley. How nice for him to give me a heads-up that he was back in town. What a little phony. I tore up his note and let it rain on the floor. I didn't need to deal with his shit right now. I threw my backpack in the passenger's seat and climbed in. I started the car up and left as fast as I could.

* * *

Later that night, I had already arrived at the school, along with most Mr. Gokey's students. All of the symphonic band kids were here and so were most of the jazz band. The only person who wasn't here, however, was Krys. I always thought she would be the first to arrive at an event like this; I wonder what was taking her so long.

Everyone in jazz band had to wear a black dress shirt, black pants (in my case, black skinny jeans), black dress shoes, white suspenders, and a white tie. I grumbled to myself as I tried to figure out how to tie this stupid thing around my neck. I never could figure out how to work this thing. After about ten tries, I gave up.

"God dammit!" I groaned as I threw my tie down, making some people stare at me.

"You alright there, Knight?"

When I turned around, I had to make sure that my jaw didn't go slack. Krys looked like a freakin' angel tonight. She wore a tight cream colored dress that ended just above the knee. Shiny silver heels dazzled at her feet. She tied her whole outfit together with silver hoop earrings and bracelets. Instead of leaving her long dark auburn hair straight as usual, she pinned her long bangs back and curled her hair. Just when I thought Krys couldn't be any more beautiful…

"Y-yeah, I'm f-fine…" I stuttered. Seriously? I mentally slapped myself. _Pull it together, Kendall!_

Krys nodded her head at my tie on the floor. "Is that yours?"

"Yeah," I said as I picked it up, "I've been trying to tie this thing for about twenty minutes now and I just can't seem to get it right."

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" she giggled, "I always have to tie these for my brother, too. Hand it over."

I placed the white tie in her hand and she stepped closer to me. She wrapped it around my neck and began to work her magic. I couldn't help but stare at this angel in front of me; she was just too gorgeous for words. Not to mention that I was taller than her and had a good view of her cleavage. Yeah, I know, that was a bit unprofessional. I tried to look away so I didn't come off as creepy so I just focused on her face. That didn't sound much better either… shit.

She must've felt me staring at her and she slowly looked up at me. "What?"

"You look amazing tonight," I told her, not caring how dumb I sounded.

Her cheeks turned red as she bit on her bottom lip and it was starting to turn me on a bit. I've always found it sexy whenever girls did that, but right now because of her, I felt as if my body was getting hotter and hotter. "Well, thanks," Krys said, "You look pretty spiffy as well."

I chuckled. "So, who's here for you tonight?"

"My brother and some guy he's been seeing for a few weeks. I never met him before so it should be kinda interesting. What about you?"

"Just my mom and Katie," I answered. She finished fixing my tie and crossed her arms in front of her. I noticed that she looked a bit uneasy; she kept staring at the floor and biting her lip again. "Are you okay?"

"Hmm?" she said as she looked up at me, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit nervous, that's all."

I scoffed. "You have no reason to be nervous, Krys. You're incredible during rehearsals. Just perform as if it was just the jazz band listening to you sing. I'm sure you're going to be just as amazing."

"Performing for you guys is so much more different! There's a crap ton of more people in the audience and I get stage fright and now I'm even more nervous and that's why I'm rambling so much I don't know what to do-"

"Krys!" I chuckled as I placed my hands on her shoulders and shook her a bit. "Calm yourself. It's not as scary as it seems. I've performed in front of crowds before; it's easy. All you have to do is think about something that always calms you down and helps you release some tension. You'll be fine."

She brushed her hair over her pale shoulders. "What helps you stay calm, Kendall?"

_You. It's always been you and will always be you._

"Just my friends and family," I lied, "that's all. If you think about things like that, I'm sure you'll blow everyone away."

Krys smiled softly up at me. I should've just told her right then and there how I really felt. What was wrong with me? Why couldn't I just say what I've been dying to say for the past few weeks? I was about to speak when Mr. Gokey walked into the band room.

"Alright, everyone!" he said as he clapped his hands, "The concert's about to start! Jazz band, take your spots on the stage and symphonic band, sit in the audience and watch before intermission. Let's have a great show, everyone!"

Krys and I walked together to the auditorium. It wasn't big, but it was enough to seat at least a hundred people. The jazz band went onstage with our instruments as symphonic sat with all of the relatives and friends. I was kinda surprised; I didn't expect these many people to show up. I saw my mom sitting with Katie in the front row talking to Tyce and apparently his new boyfriend. My family looked up and saw me. They smiled and waved at me. I did the same before tuning my guitar.

Mr. Gokey went up to the microphone and tapped on it twice. He cleared his throat and began to speak.

"Hello, everyone. Welcome to the 30th annual Sherwood High School winter concert." The audience applauded. "My name's Daniel Gokey; I'm the musical director here at Sherwood. Thank you all so much for coming out tonight and supporting our program. We have some very talented musicians and I'm very excited to show you everything we've learned so far this year."

"We're gonna kick off tonight's concert with our jazz ensemble, performing a classic Christmas piece entitled 'Merry Christmas, Baby'. I would like to bring up our newest addition to the group who is a very talented singer. We are all thankful to have her with us so please welcome Krys Everrest."

The audience applauded once more as Krys walked onstage and to the microphone. I could see her shaking with nerves in front of me. She turned around and gave me a look that said she was pretty damn nervous. I gave her a thumbs-up and mouthed to her that she could do this. She sighed and turned back to the audience. Mr. Gokey began to count us off and Miles began to play the beginning notes on the piano. I heard Krys let out a huge breath before singing.

_Should auld acquaintance be forgot  
And never brought to mind  
Should auld acquaintance be forgot  
In days of auld lang syne_

_Oh, ooh_  
_Merry Christmas baby_  
_You sure did treat me nice, oh ooh, yeah, yeah_  
_Said uh, merry Christmas baby oh_  
_You sure did treat me nice, oh_  
_You gave me a diamond ring for Christmas_  
_Now I'm living in paradise, oh_

_I'm, I'm feeling mighty fine_  
_Got good music on my radio_  
_(Yes you do child)_  
_Well I'm, I'm feeling mighty fine_  
_Got good music, music on my radio, oh_  
_(That's right)_  
_Well I, I wanna kiss you baby_  
_While we're standing underneath the mistletoe_

_Santa came down the chimney_  
_About a half past three_  
_Left all these pretty presents_  
_That you, that you see before me, oh_

Merry Christmas baby, merry Christmas baby  
You sure been good to me, oh, oh ooh  
Well I, I haven't had a drink this morning  
But I'm, I'm lit up like a Christmas tree  
Christmas tree, oh ooh oh, oh yeah

_Ooh, yeah, oh_  
_Yeah, yeah, yeah_  
_Oh, oh_  
_Oh yeah, yeah, yeah_

_St. Nick came down the chimney_  
_About a half past three_  
_He left all these pretty presents_  
_That you see before me_

_Merry Christmas baby_  
_You sure look good to me_  
_Ain't had a taste this morning_  
_But I'm all lit up like a Christmas tree, yeah_

_Oh, oh, oh, ooh_  
_Merry Christmas baby_  
_You sure been good to me_  
_Oh, oh, ooh_  
_Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, oh_  
_Sure been good to, to, to, ooh me_  
_Hey, ooh, oh yeah_

As the music died down, claps and cheers came from the audience. They even gave her a standing ovation, which didn't surprise me at all. Once again, Krys was flawless. I'm sure she wasn't expecting it, though. She turned to me and smiled brightly. I gave her another thumbs-up, telling her that she was incredible. Her nerves had definitely settled down at this point now. She turned around and we got ready to play our next piece.

After about two successful hours, the concert had ended. Krys ran up to her brother and gave him a huge hug. I put my guitar in its case and did the same with my family.

"Oh, Kendall!" my mother said as she hugged me, "That was incredible! This was by far my favorite concert you have performed."

"Thanks, Mom," I smiled. I turned to my sister. "What did you think, Katie?"

She nodded her head. "Not bad, big brother. Although, I think Krys was the reason that you guys didn't suck this year."

I rolled my eyes but gave her a hug anyways. I started a conversation with my family until I saw someone unexpected standing at the door. He had his arms crossed in front of his chest and he roamed his eyes around the room. I excused myself from my mom and sister and made my way over to my best friend.

"Hey, Logan."

He smirked at me. "What's up, Kendall?" he said as we gave each other one of those man-hugs.

"Nothing much," I answered, still in shock, "What are you doing here? How'd you even know we had a concert tonight?"

"My physics teacher was handing out flyers today during class and I didn't have anything else to do. I figured I might as well stop by and check out what you guys sound like."

Wow. Wasn't expecting that, but I'll take it. "Well, thanks for coming. I appreciate it."

Logan shrugged. "No problem, man. You guys were actually pretty good; I'm impressed." He nodded over to Krys, who was laughing along with Tyce and 'mystery dude'. "She's a freakin' good singer."

"I know, right?" I agreed, not taking my eyes off of her, "She's incredible." Right then, something sparked inside of me. I couldn't hold it back any longer; I had to deal with this now. "Hey, Logan, I got to go take care of something, but thanks again for stopping by."

"Don't mention it."

We gave each other one last man-hug before Logan left. I then headed over to Krys. Something had to be done tonight, even if it was the last thing I did.

* * *

***Krys's POV***

Tyce picked a good one. Starbucks guy- whose name was actually Matt- was a really nice and also really cute guy. Tyce was right, Matt did look like Ryan Reynolds. He was also freakin' hilarious! I had to check my makeup a few times to see if any tears were messing it up. He was in the middle of telling us what happened at Starbucks with a sassy customer when someone touched my arm.

I looked up and smiled at Kendall. My arms wrapped around his neck as his wrapped around my waist. "You were awesome tonight, Kendall!" I gushed. Wow, I couldn't have sounded any more like a fangirl, huh?

"Are you kidding me?" he scoffed as he let go of me, "It was you who had the audience up on their feet! I told you that you were going to be phenomenal!" He looked at my brother and Matt and shook their hands. "Hi, I'm-"

"Kendall Knight," Tyce interrupted him, "Yeah, I know. My sister talks about you a lot, actually. She won't shut up about you."

I smacked my brother in the chest. I could already feel my cheeks burning up with embarrassment. That wasn't really necessary! Kendall didn't seem to mind, though. Instead, he chuckled a bit and randomly- not that it bothered me- wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

"Aw, how sweet of her!" he teased. I stuck my tongue out at him, but he just laughed. He turned back to Tyce. "Actually, I was wondering if I could take Krys somewhere for a bit; I want to talk to her about something. You know, if it was okay with you."

Seeing Kendall get a little nervous was pretty cute, I'm not going to lie. I was also curious to know what he wanted to talk to me about. I looked at Tyce, who looked a bit hesitant to let me go out with this guy that he still thinks is 'dangerous' for me. I gave him a pleading look, hoping to soften him up a bit. He rolled his eyes and let out a sigh of defeat.

"She has to be back home no later than midnight," he demanded, pointing at Kendall. _Yes!_

"I promise," Kendall said, "Thank you!" He grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the auditorium with him.

As soon as we got into his truck, I begged him to tell me what we were doing and where he was taking me. All he did was wiggle his eyebrows and tell me to just wait and see. Ugh, I hate surprises, but for Kendall, I guess I'll make an exception. He then drove off onto a familiar road. As soon as I saw the tall snow-covered trees, I knew he was taking me to that forest we went to the day he got suspended. I had secretly wanted to come back to this place since then, but I never had the courage to tell Kendall that.

He put the truck to a stop and got out. As soon as I opened up my door, I started to shiver. There are no benefits to wearing a short strapless dress in the snow at all! Being the thoughtful guy he is, Kendall reached behind my seat and pulled out his grey hoodie. He handed it to me. I didn't have to think twice to take it and pull it over my head. It was way too big on me, but it was so damn comfortable and it had Kendall's natural musky scent on it. I was in heaven!

He took my hand and together, we walked to what was now our spot. My eyes lit up at the sight. Snow took its place from what used to be the grass and dirt. All of the leaves from the trees were now gone and replaced with even more snow. The water was frozen, which made me almost wish I had brought my ice skates. It was all just so beautiful.

"What do you think?" Kendall asked me.

I was at a loss for words. All I could say was, "This is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my entire life."

He chuckled. "Well, I'm glad you like it. I've been coming here ever since my dad died. I used to just walk through the forest and think about, well, everything. I was so overwhelmed with what was happening and I needed to clear my head. One day, I stumbled upon this exact spot and the sound and sight of it all relaxed me so much. I've been coming here at least once a week ever since I was eight years old. I even carved my initials on this rock."

He patted the boulder I was sitting on. I scooted over a tiny bit and found 'KK' carved into it.

"Wow," I said, "I bet all of the ladies you ever dated loved this place."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Actually, you're the only person besides me that knows about this place. I never really had the desire to bring anyone else here except for you."

My heart started to pound against my chest. I was definitely touched by this; if he trusted me enough to be the only one to know about this place, I must really mean something to him. Maybe he really does… no. I had to shake that thought away. I really don't want to get my hopes up. I doubt he actually does like me like that. I mean, why would he?

"You really were incredible tonight," Kendall said to me, breaking me from my thoughts, "I told you that you just needed to think of something relaxing and you'd be fine. Was I not right?"

I chuckled. "Did you only bring me here to rub it in my face that you were right about something?"

"No," he chuckled along with me. I snuggled into the hoodie I was wearing as he walked towards me. "I actually have some news that you might wanna hear."

I raised an eyebrow. "Should I be worried, or…"

He sat down next to me and smiled. "I took another look at that brochure for Musicians Institute. For a long time, I was debating on whether or not I was going to apply. Well, before the concert tonight, I dropped off my application for Musicians Institute in the mailbox."

Oh my god. Was he joking? With one look at his grinning face, I knew that he actually did it. He actually applied to the same school I did. I covered my mouth with my hand, but even that couldn't hide how ecstatic I was for him. I squealed in excitement and wrapped my arms around him.

"Kendall, that's so great!" I squealed, "Oh my gosh, you have no idea how happy you just made me!" I held him for a few moments longer before I let go. I couldn't stop smiling; I was too damn excited!

"Krys, are you crying?" he asked, chuckling.

I swiped my finger on my cheek. When I looked down at my hand, I saw mascara-covered tears. "Oh, shit, I guess I am!" I giggled as I continued to wipe my eyes carefully.

He laughed along with me as he helped me wipe the tears away. They were all gone, but his hand lingered on my face. We looked at each other for a little while before I remembered there was something I wanted to give him.

I reached into the pocket on my dress and pulled out a small black box. I held it out to him and said, "Merry Christmas, Kendall."

He looked a bit shocked that I actually bought something for him. He looked confused on whether he should accept it or not, but I gave him an assuring look to just take it. He took the box from me and took off the lid.

"Oh, wow," he said as he took out a red guitar pick. It had 'Incubus' written in silver on it. "How cool is this!"

I giggled. "That's not all. Look what's underneath it."

He raised an eyebrow and looked back in the box. I don't think I've ever seen anyone's eyes grow as big as Kendall's when he pulled out a VIP pass for an Incubus concert. No, not a fake one; this one was legit.

"Is this…"

I nodded my head. "The concert's not until January 27th, but I figured since it's Christmas, I might as well give it to you now. I have the other ticket at home, just in case you wanted me to go the concert with you."

"Yeah, absolutely!" he beamed. He took me by surprise as he wrapped me in a hug. "Aw, thank you so much, Krys! Oh! That reminds me…" He pulled away from me and took a small silver box out of his jean pocket. "This is for you."

I took the box in awe. I was going to say the cliché, "Oh, Kendall, you shouldn't have," but who was I kidding? I was anxious to know what was in there! Not wanting to seem too eager, I opened up the box and gasped at what I saw was inside. It was the most beautiful silver locket ever. I pulled the necklace out and dropped the box in the snow. I opened the heart charm and saw a picture that someone from jazz band must've taken of the two of us goofing off.

"Kendall," I said breathlessly, "I don't even know what to say…"

"Do you like it?" he asked hopefully.

Too stunned, I nodded my head. He laughed as he took the locket out of my hands. He scooted closer to me and wrapped the necklace around my neck. I took in his scent as he fastened the chain around me.

"Kendall, I can't thank you enough," I told him, "It's so beautiful."

"Not as beautiful as you…" he said under his breath, which I'm sure I wasn't supposed to hear. But I did.

I didn't realize how close he was to me until I looked up at him. His face was probably only two inches away from mine. His green eyes were staring deep into mine, and I immediately became lost. I felt his warm breath on my face, which sent shivers down my spine. I looked up at his soft-looking pink lips. God, I bet they would feel so good against mine!

As if he read my thoughts exactly, he cupped my face with his hands. My breath hitched as his head started to lean down towards mine. I closed my eyes, waiting for what was to come. Then I felt his warm lips brush mine. I entangled my hands in his dirty blonde hair as I finally kissed him. Talk about fireworks! I haven't kissed many boys back home in Arizona, but there was no question that Kendall was the best kisser ever.

He pulled me onto his lap as the kiss started heating up, which was exactly what I needed in this weather. I felt his tongue poke out and lightly lick my bottom lip, which put me in a trance. My lips were slightly parted when his disconnected from mine, but he saw it as an opportunity to take the kiss to a whole new level and darted his tongue in. I was definitely under Kendall's spell. I could do this for hours, but eventually, we needed to catch our breath.

We broke off the kiss, but still remained close as he rested his forehead against mine. We just stared at each other as we tried to calm down our breathing. I ran my fingers through his hair and he kept his hands on my cheeks, keeping them warm. I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't falling for this boy, but there was one question stuck in the back of my mind.

"What does this mean for us?" I asked him softly.

Kendall tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "I don't know how you feel, Krys, but I like you. A lot. I know that I'm not the safest person to be around and that we're too different, but honestly, I'm tired of seeing you without being able to call you mine. If it's okay with you, I'd like to be more than friends."

I'm definitely on cloud nine right now. My heart was aching for him and I couldn't hold it back any longer. I smiled as I said, "Well, it's a good thing that I like you a lot, too."

The corners of his mouth stretched out into a big grin before kissing me again and holding me in his arms. I couldn't have pictured a better moment than this: one super amazing boy that has stolen my heart, holding me in the most beautiful forest I ever came across. It's like 'The Notebook', except we're not making out in the pouring rain. This was so much better.

"Merry Christmas, baby," I whispered to him, even though I was a few days ahead of schedule, but I didn't care. I was with Kendall, and that's all that matters to me.

* * *

**If you wanna hear what that song Krys sang sounds like, go onto YouTube and type in Merry Christmas Baby by Christina Aguilera. I can just picture Krys to have that kind of a voice :)**

**I hope you all liked this chapter as much as I did! You should because they're finally together :D PLEASE leave me a review! Also, Dance Is Better With U is back up and better than ever so please check that out. I also started a new KendallxOC story called How Do I Deal Without You. Take a look at that one, too! **

**Please check out Carlos'sCupcake, SuperSillyStories, and GothBlue's stories if you haven't already! They're my favorite writers on here and their stories are freakin' awesome so show them some love! Last but not least, thank you to those who have reviewed, favorited, and followed my stories so far! It means so much to me, you have no idea! Until next time, rock on and WHOO HOO! xoxo, Maddie :)  
**


	10. Fall For You

**Hey guys! Sorry again for the late update! I'm not even gonna bother to give you an excuse for this one! I wasn't expecting to write this chapter, but it just happened.  
**

**I made some posters for The Saviors Saga and I'll post them at the end of this chapter! I'm really proud at the way they turned out so I hope you guys like them, too!  
**

**This is when the M rating is more put into use. It's not full on sex, but it's still something that I'm very new at writing, so please go easy on me! Other than that, enjoy!**

* * *

***Kendall's POV***

The guys and I were sitting around the fireplace in James's backyard. His mom was outta town on another business trip so James had the whole house to himself. He and I used our fake I.D.s so we could buy some beer from the nearby liquor store. It was a bit pointless in a way because we could actually pull off being over twenty-one and James is always flirting with the cashier so she just hands us the beer nonchalantly. I would always give him shit for using the poor girl for his own satisfaction but I decided to let it go for the night. It's been a while since I just hung out with my friends without worrying about school, home, and work. I missed it and I really needed this tonight.

Logan's pocket knife was being passed around the circle to poke holes at the bottom of their beer can. Once everyone was done, we lifted the cans to our mouths, popped them open, and guzzled down the beer from the bottom of the can. Carlos was the first to finish our 'shotgun' competition, so he threw down his can and jumped up out of his seat.

"Whoo!" he hollered, pumping his fists in the air, "That's right! I am the CHAMPION!"

James, Logan, and I rolled our eyes and sulked as Carlos jumped up and down, obviously pleased with his accomplishment. When he stopped jumping around, the Latino held his hand out and smirked.

"You guys know the deal," he said cockily, "Pay up, bitches!"

We grumbled as we dug our wallets out of our pockets. We each took out twenty bucks and placed the money in Carlos's hands. He thanked us like the cocky asshole he was being and sat back down in between James and Logan. I took another beer from the cooler and leaned back in my chair. I couldn't help but feel a bit anxious as I kept checking the gate to see if anyone was there. My friends noticed the nervous state I was in and spoke up.

"Kendall," James said, "you know that constantly checking the gate isn't gonna help Krys get here faster."

I sighed. "I know... I just can't help it. I haven't seen her in a week already."

"Why?" Logan asked me, "What has she been up to?"

"She had to go back to Arizona to visit her family for Christmas." I popped the beer can open and took a drink from it. I slightly frowned as I remembered the conversation I had with Krys on Christmas Day.

When I called her that day, I knew right when she answered that something was wrong. She was upset that this was the first Christmas that she was celebrating without her parents. She had also explained to me that it was their favorite holiday because before they had her and Tyce, her dad had proposed to her mom that day. Then she had started to cry, which broke my heart. To calm her down, I sang for her and kept telling her that everything was going to be alright. Eventually she stopped crying and we just started talking about what we were doing that day and how we were doing until we both fell asleep.

Krys was coming home from Arizona tonight and I honestly couldn't wait to see her. It's weird because we've only been dating a couple of weeks, but I already feel so attached to her. I felt the need to always protect her from anything and anyone. Whenever she comes into my neighborhood and some thug is staring at her, it takes everything in me to not kick the guy's ass. Krys could always sense how uncomfortable that made me so she'd latch onto my arm and rub my hand, calming me down. She somehow is very good at getting me to settle down; it's one of the reasons why I really like her.

"I can tell you really like this girl, man," Logan said to me, "I've never seen you worry about, well, anyone like this before. It's nice to see another side of you."

James scoffed. "It also makes you look whipped and clingy." He took a drink of his beer.

I glared at my best friend. "Fuck you, Diamond."

He raised his hands in defense. "Chill out, dude. I was just kidding."

"Well, once you get a real girlfriend, you'll understand what it's like to want to protect someone you truly."

"Oh, please," Carlos chuckled, "Knowing James here, he'll probably be flying solo for the rest of his life."

"Wouldn't surprise me," Logan said, "All he cares about is partying and fucking various girls. He couldn't handle settling down and actually taking care of anybody but himself." He patted James's knee but the brunette shoved his hand away.

My tall friend shook his head and mumbled, "You guys are fucking pricks..." He downed the rest of his beer, crumpled the can, and threw it on the ground.

We then heard a couple of giggles coming closer to the gate. The wooden gate opened and Alice appeared. Logan immediately grinned once he saw his childhood best friend. He got up from his chair and walked over to Alice. He engulfed her in a big hug and she wrapped his arms around his neck. They pulled away from each other for a few moments and started talking about who knows what. I was too busy paying attention to my beautiful girlfriend.

Krys had arrived in a black hoodie, white skinny jeans, and black Ugg boots. Her dark auburn hair was let down and it somehow looked a bit lighter, but I liked it. Her grey-blue eyes lit up when she made eye contact with me. I put down my beer and walked over to her. When I reached her, I slid my arms around her waist and kissed her. She kissed me back as she wrapped her arms around my neck. We pulled away from the kiss and continued to smile at each other.

"Hi," I said to her, resting my forehead on hers.

She giggled as she said, "Hi to you, too."

I reached up and tucked her hair behind her ear. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too, Kendall," she said before kissing me softly again.

I intertwined my fingers with Krys's and led her to where I was sitting. She was about to sit in the chair next to me but I pulled her onto my lap before she could sit. She giggled and wrapped my arms around her waist.

"Hello, there," Carlos said to Krys, "You must be the Krys that Kendall won't shut up about!" I pinched the bridge of my nose when Carlos stuck his hand out to Krys. "I'm Carlos!"

"Yes, I am Krys," my girlfriend giggled as she shook his hand, "Nice to meet you, Carlos."

James came back into the circle with two more beers in his hand. "And I'm James," he introduced himself, "the 'face' of the group." He held out a beer to Krys. "Want one?"

She shook her head. "No, thanks. I don't drink."

"Are you sure? It's not the hard stuff so you should be fine."

"That's okay. Really," Krys refused. James wasn't gonna let it go, though.

"Come on," he said, "The most it'll do is loosen you up a bit-"

"James!" I snarled at him, clenching my jaw, "she doesn't want one. Let it go."

James raised his hands up in defense again. "Sorry, dude. Shit..." He took a drink of his beer and turned away from Krys and I.

I was getting a bit pissed off. I don't know why- all of this overprotective shit was getting to me. Was I really becoming one of those boyfriends who worries about their girl 24/7? Was I becoming... oh God, clingy? That's not good at all! But Krys put me out of my thoughts when she ran her fingers through my hair. She gave me a concerned look and asked me if I was okay. I nodded my head and told her that I was fine. She gave me a kiss on the cheek and continued to play with my short hair, putting me at ease.

We hung out over at James's house a bit longer and I realized that I wanted to spend more time with Krys alone.

"Hey, you guys," I said to the group, "Krys and I are gonna bounce."

"Are you sure?" Logan asked, "You girls haven't been here for that long."

"We just wanna spend more time with each other," I explained. Krys got up from my lap and pulled me up so that I was standing. I held onto her hand and we walked towards the gate.

"I'll text you later, Krys," Alice promised her.

Krys nodded her head and we walked out of the backyard. Behind us, we heard James and Carlos wolf-whistle and yell out, "Get some!" We then heard Alice and Logan slap them, making the two of us laugh. We got into my truck and I started to drive out into the richer side of Sherwood. I had one had on the wheel and the other one was holding on to Krys's.

"So," she said, interrupting the silence, "where exactly are we going?"

I turned to her and smirked. "You'll see."

She raised an eyebrow. "Is it illegal?"

"You'll decide for yourself once we get there." I winked at her.

Krys pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head. I laughed as I continued to drive to my destination. It took me about another ten minutes or so to get to the community pool. I parked the truck two blocks away and got out. I took Krys's hand and we walked over to the gate that separated us from the pool.

"Nuh uh," she said right away, shaking her head, "Hell no!"

"Why not? Give me one good reason!

"I can give you two reasons," she said. She counted off with her fingers. "One, that's trespassing, which is illegal. And two, it's minus two degrees out here! We'll freeze to death in that thing!"

I chuckled and grabbed both of her nail polished hands. "Oh, come on, Krys! Be rebellious for once. Who knows? You may end up liking the rush." She groaned in defeat as I led her to the gate. "Also, I've been here many of times. The pool's heated."

When we reached the gate, I pulled out a random paper I kept in my pocket and unlocked it. I heard it click and I swung the gate open. The lights in the pool were lit, giving the clear blue water a beautiful glow. There were never any security guards here at night, but there were a few cameras stuck to the restrooms and locker rooms. I went to all four of them and unscrewed them from the wall so nobody had evidence that we were here.

I sat down on one of the lounge chairs and took off my black Vans and socks. I dipped my big toe in the water to test its temperature. Heated, just like always. I turned to Krys, who looked a bit uneasy. I smirked at her and decided to give her a little show. I took off my beanie and threw it on the lounge chair. I slowly unzipped my black jacket and shrugged it off my shoulders. I pulled my white tank top over my head and threw it next to my jacket. Next came the belt; I unbuckled it and pulled it through the loops of my jeans. I decided to be a bigger tease and unbutton and unzip my jeans real slow. I slowly pushed them down to my ankle and kicked them off. This whole time I was staring at my girlfriend, which made her crumble a bit. She was biting her lip, which told me that she was enjoying it. I could've been more cruel and took off my green boxers, but I think that would be taking it too far.

I tossed all of my clothes onto the chair and jumped into the pool. I came up from the warm water- which felt so damn good in this weather- and Krys was just staring at me like I was crazy.

"Are you insane, Kendall Knight?" she exclaimed.

"Come on, Krys!" I told her, "Live a little and come join me!"

She still looked a bit hesitant, I could see in her pretty eyes. Then she shrugged her shoulders like she didn't give a damn and kicked off her boots and socks. When she got to taking off her actual clothes... fuck, she's even a bigger tease than I am!

She grabbed the end of her sweatshirt and pulled it off of her torso, leaving her in a black tank top. She slowly pulled off her shirt, revealing her pale but perfectly toned stomach. Her bra was teal and lacy and I knew that it wasn't a push-up (not like she needed it). With one look at me, she could tell that I was enjoying this way too much, so she kicked it up a notch. As she pulled off her jeans, her thumb brushed over her matching underwear, giving me a good view of her tattoo...

Wait, what?

I wasn't mistaken; a bass and treble clef forming a heart was inked on her hip bone with the words 'Music Sounds Better With U' surrounding it. I never thought that Krys would be the type of girl to get a tattoo, but either way, I was incredibly turned on. I looked down and that I was getting hard fast, and she hasn't even touched me! I bit my lip and prayed that it would just go away on its own as Krys jumped into the water. She came out from under the water, laughing.

"Oh my gosh, it feels so much warmer in here!" she laughed as she wrapped her arms around my neck.

I laughed along with her as I grabbed her thighs and wrapped her legs around my waist. "So, I see that you got a little ink on you."

"Oh yeah," she blushed, obviously forgetting that she had it, "I got it when I went with Tyce to get his first tattoo a few months after the accident. I know that you're not supposed to get one until you're eighteen, but my rebellious side was starting to show." She smirked at me and I chuckled.

She traced her finger on the tattoo on my shoulder, which was a skull, my most recent one. I had gotten it on Halloween and it's my favorite one so far. I had two other tattoos: my astrological sign, which was Scorpio, and a peace sign with the four elements.

"I really like yours," Krys whispered, looking mesmerized at my ink.

"And I really like you," I whispered in her ear before placing a soft kiss underneath it.

She looked up at me, piercing her grey-blue eyes into my green ones. I cupped her cheek with my hand and she rand her hand through my sopping wet hair. We closed our eyes and connected our lips together. I backed her up so that she was trapped between me and the wall. Her hands cupped my face and mine gripped onto the edge of the pool. I licked her bottom lip and darted my tongue into her mouth. She moaned as I mapped out the roof of her mouth with my tongue.

I never had an intimate moment as passionate as the one I was having right now. With other girls- especially Jo- we were just quick to get the dirty deed over with so I could leave before her parents came home. With Krys, on the other hand, I enjoyed taking my time with her and just letting the moment sink in. God, the things that this angel was doing to me right now! I was aching to make her feel good, other than worrying about receiving any pleasure for myself for a change. Before I knew what I was doing, my hands slid up her curves to behind her back. I was fumbling to unhook her bra and she broke up the kiss.

"Kendall," she panted, "what are you doing?"

"I can't get this fucking thing off," I grumbled to myself as I continued to try to take her bra off.

"Stop," she told me, taking my hands away from my back, "Kendall, please stop."

I looked up at her, confused on why she stopped me. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she said, "It's just... I'm not ready for... _that_, yet."

"Oh." I back up away from her, ashamed of what I had just done. How could I have been so stupid and not asked if she wanted this? I didn't want to come off as some horny boyfriend like all of the other ones that she probably had.

Krys was looking a bit guilty, too. "Kendall, I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do to help you with your..."

I shook my head and ran my hand through my hair. "No, it's not that. I'm not worried about myself. I just..." I sighed as I tried to recollect myself. "Can I try something with you? And if you don't like it, tell me to stop and I won't be angry at you, I promise."

My girlfriend bit her lip as she pondered in her thoughts. After a few moments, she nodded her head. I cupped her face again and continued to kiss her. As the kiss became more heated, I slid my hand to her chest then to her stomach and then to the front of her underwear. I rubbed her there a little to see how she would react. To my surprise, instead of breaking the kiss to tell me to stop, she let out a little moan. Okay, she was liking it so far, so I rubbed her a little harder and her moan got a bit louder.

"Kendall, baby," she said breathlessly, "more. I need more."

Wanting to please Krys, I pressed my palm against her stomach and slid it into her underwear. I ran my finger over her folds and she shivered and let out a soft mewl. She was wet already, but I couldn't tell whether it was from pleasure or the pool. Then, I inserted my shaky finger inside her, making her cry out, pull me close to her, and grip onto my back. She buried her head in the crook of my head and by the sound of her cries, I could tell she was in pain.

"Shh," I tried to calm her, kissing her temple, "You're okay. It's okay, baby."

I then started to move my finger, pumping it in and out of her. Her cries turned into moans very quickly, so I knew I should keep going. I started at a slower pace and it gradually got faster. "Ugh, Kendall," she moaned, "God, feels so damn good..." I traveled my lips down from her jaw to the pulse point on her neck and started to suck on it to double her pleasure. I looked up at her and her eyes were closed and her head was tilted back. Her lips were parted and the cutest moans were seeping from them. I crooked up my finger and it brushed against this one spot that made her go crazy.

"Oh, God!" Krys cried, "Right there! Please do it again!" Her wish was my command, so I repeatedly brushed my finger against the same spot inside her. She started to rock her hips against my finger, desperate to reach that peak. At this point, both of her hands were tangled in my hair and even tugging it a bit, which was making me start to lose my cool. I felt like I was going to release myself at any second now, and I wasn't even being touched down there. Just hearing and knowing that my girl was getting off because of me was enough. Her hips were rocking against my finger faster and by the way she was biting her lips, I knew she was close.

"K-Kendall!" she whimpered, "I'm, I'm gonna... ugh..."

"Just let it go, baby," I told her, rubbing her spot faster and faster, "Just let it go."

My approval was enough to send her over the edge. Her walls clenched around my finger and she whimpered very loudly as she came. Hearing her caused me to follow after her and all of my tension was released. I rubbed my finger in her just a bit longer to ride out her orgasm. I then pulled my finger out of her and pulled her body close to mine. We both were panting, trying to calm ourselves. She buried her head in the crook of my neck and I rubbed her back.

"Wow," Krys breathed, "That was just... wow."

"You're telling me," I said back, still in shock of what just happened. If this got me off more than actual sex with other girls, who knew what it will be like when we do the real thing?

I looked down at her and she looked up at me with an innocent look in her eyes. "Thank you," she said softly, "I couldn't have thought of a better person to do that with."

I smiled. "No problem, beautiful." I kissed her forehead and she shivered.

"I'm kinda tired now," she giggled, "and I'm cold."

I chuckled along with her. "Then let's get you warmed up and we can go home."

We let go of each other and we climbed out of the pool. I grabbed a towel from behind the concession stand and wrapped it around Krys's shivering body. She smiled once more at me. I smiled back, kissed her on the lips, and pulled her into the biggest hug. Tonight showed me how much I really cared for this girl, but there was more to it than that. I was still unsure of what I was feeling, but looking down at my girl, I knew that it was something incredible.

* * *

**Wow... that was my first time writing anything like that! Sorry if that sucked :P But please review and share your thoughts! It would mean so much to me. I try to get at least five reviews on every chapter, so keep that in mind. Also, please check out my other story, Dance Is Better With U! Yes, it's back and better than ever! Plus, please check out stories by Carlos'sCupcake, SuperSillyStories, and GothBlue! They are such incredible writers and I love them dearly! Until next time, rock on and WHOO HOO! xoxo, Maddie :)**

**The Saviors Saga posters!:**

** www. polyvore send_me_an_angel_saviors/set?id=68211572**

** www. polyvore better_days_saviors_saga_part/set?id=68211363**

** www. polyvore somewhere_only_we_know_saviors/set?id=68210566**

** www. polyvore fix_you_saviors_saga_part/set?id=68187741**

** www. polyvore saviors_saga_big_time_rush/set?id=68088401**


	11. PLEASE READ!

**Hi, guys!**

**I know it's been a long time since I've updated any of my stories. Words can't explain how sorry I am. I haven't had any motivation to write lately and writer's block is just kicking my ass. I'm not gonna stop updating, don't worry, but not until I have at least most of the stories written. I know I don't have many chapters on each of them to begin with, but I'm trying as hard as I can to give you guys good stories. So with that being said, I'm putting these stories on hiatus. I don't know for how long, but hopefully not too long. I'm not giving up, I promise you that!**

**But onto some good news. **

**I am starting a CarlosxOC story sometime this week. Yeah, it's not good to start a new story when I have three other ones that need my attention and I have been trying to wait until at least towards the end of the school year. But this is just DYING to come out and I can't ignore it any longer. Hopefully the first chapter will be up by the end of the week and I'm gonna be trying to update weekly. I just need your guys' motivation.**

**Here's the summary for **_**Scandalous**_**:**

_**It is senior year for Kendall, James, Logan, and Carlos at Palm Woods School of the Arts in Los Angeles. They are the school's barbershop quartet called Big Time Rush- the most popular guys in school. They are also known as the biggest players who love to sleep around. Cecily Giordano- Lucy's best friend since they were little- is new to the school. She is the sweetest and most innocent person anyone has ever met. Cecily has also caught Carlos's eye. Lucy tells the boys to stay away from Cecily, but Carlos won't have it. The guys dare Carlos to get Cecily to sleep with him and record the whole thing. He learns along the road that landing a clueless virgin is the hardest thing he has ever done and having her in the same dance class as him doesn't help, but he won't give up. He is stealing her innocence one step at a time, and it scares the hell out of Cecily. Will Carlos have a change of heart, or will his scandalous ways put Cecily's career, future, and even her safety in jeopardy?**_

**Make sure you keep your eye out! Until then, rock on and WHOO HOO! Xoxo, Maddie :)**


End file.
